North Coast golfers awarded prestigious scholarship

Published 4:22 pm Wednesday, July 30, 2025

 Recent high school graduates Madden Wunderlich, of Seaside, and Calvin Olson, of Warrenton, will be attending the University of Oregon free of charge, after being awarded the Evans Scholarship.

 “It was pretty surreal when I was chosen,” Wunderlich said. “I was at my buddy’s house; we just had a basketball team dinner, and my mom received a package in the mail. I asked her if I could open it and after I saw the letter it was pretty special to know my hard work paid off.”

For Olson, it was a similar story.

“I came home to the letter sitting on my desk, and I didn’t know what it was at first,” Olson said. “Once I realized what it was, I immediately told my uncle about it.”

The Evans Scholarship is a full housing and tuition college scholarship awarded to golf caddies with limited financial means. Evans Scholars are selected on the basis of strong caddie records, excellent grades, outstanding character and demonstrated financial need.

Though the Evans Scholarship has been around since the 1930s, 2025 was just the third year Clatsop County athletes have had the opportunity to apply.

According to Gearhart Golf Links Men’s Club member and handicap chairman Orville Thomas Millsap, or O.T as he’s known, Gearhart revived the Evans Scholarship after 35 years as a way to help young men and women fulfill the dream of attending college.

“Part of the goal was to mentor these young people by giving them an opportunity to be around adults,” O.T said. “A couple golfers got really close to the boys and would hire them to the loop.”

Olson credits the Evans Scholarship for his enrollment in college.

“If I didn’t receive the scholarship, I wasn’t sure what I was going to do regarding college,” he said.

Olson will be the first member of his family to attend college and now can pursue a degree in sports management.

For Wunderlich, his journey started at the end of his freshman year.

Prior to high school he was a baseball player, and never thought golf would be something he would end up doing. But he decided to pick it up his freshman year, and one conversation with Principal Jeff Roberts, was all he needed to become a caddy.

 “He told me about it (at) the end of my freshman year,” Wunderlich said. “While caddying I’ve met supercool people like CEOs of golf companies, and professional athletes. I never thought about it as a job since it was a chance for me to be out in nature and meet new people.”

 Not only did Wunderlich have success as a caddy, he also saw individual and team success for Seaside. Wunderlich fulfilled one of his high school goals of winning a state title in May with the Seaside golf team.

Olson has a similar golf story. He went out for golf his sophomore year at Warrenton and improved in each subsequent year. After helping Warrenton boys golf qualify for the state tournament for the first time in over 20 years this past season, Olson shot his two best career scores during the two-day state tournament. This helped the Warriors tie their best-ever finish at state for boys golf.

Wunderlich and Olson joined four other Oregon athletes as the 2025 Evans Scholarship recipients. The scholarship winners in Oregon are chosen by a board.

“Young people will write an essay describing their desire to attend a university and their financial need,” O.T said. “Before the kids arrive to face the board, someone will read their essay. It’s heart-wrenching reading some of these kids’ stories, as they’re fighting lots of adversity.”

Despite being recent high school graduates and preparing to attend the University of Oregon in the fall, both Olson and Wunderlich see caddying as something they will do moving forward.

“I plan on caddying in the summer,” Olson said. “It’s a great experience out there. Knowing that me and Madden got the scholarship makes me feel special.”

“Before graduation, I was on a panel where we answered questions to eighth graders and one of the things I told them was to pursue caddying. It’s a great summer job, and only good things could come from it.”

 “I’ve done a couple summer jobs at my mom’s coffee shop and golf course, but the most fun I’ve had is being a caddy, so I highly recommend it to anyone,” Wunderlich said. “During the summers I’d love to caddy at Bandon Dunes Golf Resort.”

Paul Matli