U of D Jesuit senior receives caddie college scholarship

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A good caddie is a great find and 17-year-old Edmund Black III is said to be one of the best.

Thoughtful, respectful, he works hard and now he's being honored and rewarded - for his efforts in a big way.

"I enjoy pretty much everything about caddying," he said. "I don't golf myself but I still love the game."

Eddie, a senior at U of D Jesuit, started caddying when he was 13 at Plum Hollow Country Club. For a long time, he sat the bench - but he kept coming back. His dedicated parents, a police lieutenant and a nurse, dropped him off day after day during the summer.

"The hard work and the persistence and obviously here we are now - it was definitely worth sitting the bench all those hours," he said.

It is worth it because Eddie is now headed to the University of Michigan on scholarship - not just because he excels as a caddie, though. He is also the class president, member of the National Honor Society, almost an eagle scout, in marching band and jazz band, and has an excellent grade point average. How does this kid find the time to caddie as well?

"I've learned a lot through caddying. I've learned a lot about respect and like I said, a lot about hard work and about leadership," he said.

Which is why Eddie being now one of 23 high school students from Michigan to be awarded the Western Golf Association's Chick Evans Scholarship, a full tuition and housing scholarship valued at $120,000 over four years.

Chick Evans was a famed amateur golfer who started as a caddie and established the scholarship fund to send other caddies to college and on to successful careers.

Eddie is already mentoring other caddies, including his own siblings.

"My brother started caddying last year up here," he said. "My sister is starting this year. Hopefully my youngest sister will start in a couple years. Just showing them the way."

A way forward for Eddie that means engineering and maybe architecture at the University of Michigan, while thanking everyone from his family to friends to everybody at Plum Hollow Country Club in Southfield who showed him the way.

"Their love and support has really helped me grow as a person not only as a caddy but as who I am today," he said.

For more information on the Chick Evans Scholarship, go HERE.