Why The Best Junior Female Golfers Are Competing In Indianapolis This Week

Junior Golfers and Caddies Compete For Scholarships In Indianapolis

In 1899, 11 Chicago-area golf clubs came together and decided to create an organization dedicated to what they loved most in life: golf. It was at that time that the Western Golf Association was born and headquartered in Golf, Illinois. No, that is not a joke. To this day, the association operates out of the aptly named Illinois city, hosting four amateur and two professional golfing events each year. The two professional contests are the BMW Championship and the Korn Ferry Tour's Evans Scholars Invitational. The amateur tournaments are the Western Amateur, Western Junior, Women's Western Amateur, and the event going on in Indianapolis right now, the Women's Western Junior. The primary reason for the tournament? To get these kids some scholarship money for college through the Evans Scholars Foundation.

What Is The Evans Scholars Foundation?

In 1929, amateur golfer Chick Evans Jr. asked the WGA to create a scholarship fund specifically for caddies. In 1930, the WGA awarded its first two Evans Scholars recipients, and they've been sending caddies to college ever since. Here's more from WGA:

"Today, the Foundation is funded by contributions from Par Club members across the country as well as proceeds from our championships. The Evans Scholars Program provides academic, professional, and social resources that help students maintain a cumulative 3.3 GPA and 98 percent graduation rate. There are a record 1,260 Evans Scholars enrolled in 27 leading universities for the 2025-26 academic year, and 12,575 young men and women have graduated as Evans Scholars since 1930."

An incredibly cool event with an incredibly cool purpose! This year's Women's Western Junior is taking place at the Meridian Hills Country Club in Indianapolis. The best female amateur golfers in the world are in our little state this week, all vying for a piece of their future. In fact, multiple Hoosiers are competing in the contest as well. Track the leaderboard and get live results here.