These 4 Erie-area caddies earned scholarships worth $125,000. What's next for them?

Cleaning clubs between shots.

Judging distances on fairways.

Reading breaks on greens.

Each are ways Matthew Costa, Reece Johnson, Patrick Drexler and Rashad Gaines have assisted Kahkwa Club’s golfers over recent years.

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Now, those same caddies have learned the sport will aid them in a way that will impact them beyond the Fairview Township course.

The high school seniors — Costa and Johnson at Cathedral Prep, and Drexler and Gaines at McDowell — are 2022-23 recipients of Charles “Chick” Evans Jr. Scholarships.

They were awarded through the Western Golf Association in suburban Chicago, where Evans lived most of his life until his death in 1979 at age 89. He was the first amateur golfer who recorded a calendar sweep of the U.S. Open and U.S. Amateur tournaments in 1916.

Since 1930, when the Evans Scholarship program was founded, more than 11,800 students with backgrounds as caddies have graduated from college.

The Erie foursome are among more than 300 caddies throughout the nation who were announced as recipients of Evans Scholarships. Each currently hold an estimated four-year worth of $125,000.

Given the scholarship’s value, it’s no wonder the words like honored and blessed were separately spoken by each Kahwka caddie.

“It gives me a chance to do something that otherwise might not have been possible,” Gaines said. “I’m very excited to see where this takes me and what I’m able to do with it.”

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Preparing for Penn State

The scholarships, at least for the near future, will take the foursome to State College.

They plan to attend Penn State and room at its Scholarship House, which has long served as the school’s temporary home for Evans recipients.

Although the scholarship is golf-related, students are free to pursue any major.

Gaines plans to major in economics and then attend law school. Johnson’s major will be financial planning, while Drexler seeks a bachelor’s degree in security and risk management.

Besides Costa, Johnson and Gaines, Drexler will be familiar with another former Evans recipient and current scholarship resident.

Joseph Drexler, his brother, is scheduled to graduate from Penn State at the end of this year. School officials granted him a semester off because of COVID-19.

“It’s kind of crazy to think my brother and I will be (students) there,” Patrick Drexler said. “Who knows? This (scholarship) could lead to a generational thing through Kahkwa. It’s all very grounding.”

Costa, who concluded his Prep golf career last fall, seeks to turn the sport into a career. He plans to complete Penn State’s PGA Professional Golf Management program and eventually become a licensed instructor.

“Golf is something that was second nature to me since I carried the bag for my grandmother (Karen Euliano),” Costa said.

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'This is all on those guys'

Costa, Drexler and Gaines each have five summers of caddying experience at Kahkwa. Johnson joined them three years ago.

Each has answered to Tom Milkowski over that span.

Milkowski, 57, has led the club’s caddie program for 31 years. He estimated more than 30 Kahkwa caddies have accepted Evans Scholarships over that span.

Costa, Johnson, Drexler and Gaines represent the most from Kahkwa who simultaneously accepted them, according to Milkowski.

“This is all on those guys. They’ve earned them,” he said. “We’ve had almost one (Evans recipient) every year since I’ve been there. But four in one year? That’s remarkable.”

Johnson said that, even with his six-figure scholarship secured, he still plans to caddie at Kahkwa until it’s time to depart for Penn State.

The same goes for Costa, Drexler and Gaines.

“Even though it’s a job, it still doesn’t feel like one," Johnson said. "When you’re out there on the course, you’re enjoying everyone’s company.”

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Contact Mike Copper at mcopper@timesnews.com. Follow him on Twitter @ETNcopper.

This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Kahkwa Club caddies, 4 Erie high school seniors earn Evans Scholarship