In February, high school senior Diana Llamas wasn’t sure she could afford to go to college. She had applied for scholarships and pondered taking a gap year to work.
A hole-in-one from pro golfer Viktor Hovland at the 2022 BMW Championship in Delaware changed her life.
Llamas, 18, was a senior at Francis W. Parker School in Lincoln Park when she found out she had been selected to receive an Evans scholarship, which provides tuition and housing for qualified caddies across the country. Llamas had a list of 24 universities to choose from and selected the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She started classes this month.
The scholarship, established by amateur golfer Charles “Chick” Evans Jr., covers full housing and tuition and is valued at an estimated $125,000 over four years, according to the Western Golf Association.
Llamas was picked using the scholarship’s four selection criteria: a strong caddie record, excellent academics, demonstrated financial need and outstanding character.
The number of Evans scholarships awarded changes each year, according to the association’s website. In 2022, 875 caddies applied for the Evans scholarship, and 325 were awarded for the 2023-24 academic year.
During the BMW Championship, the automaker contributes a full, four-year Evans scholarship on behalf of the first player to sink a hole-in-one during championship play.
“I was relieved and excited because if it weren’t for a full ride, I wouldn’t be able to go to college,” Llamas told the Sun-Times.
Last weekend, at Olympia Fields North Course, Llamas met Hovland for the first time.
She described the Norwegian as a “really nice and chill person,” adding that she was nervous going into the meeting.
“It felt amazing, just knowing why I was there, knowing I was a hole-in-one scholar and knowing what he did to change my life,” Llamas said.
At a news conference Sunday after winning the 2023 BMW Championship, Hovland said: “Just because I made a hole-in-one, that allowed her to pursue a pretty cool degree in something that’s hopefully going to change her life and set her up for the rest of her life, and I think that’s pretty cool just to be a part of that and have something to do with that. That was very special.”
Llamas grew up on the border of the Belmont Cragin and Portage Park neighborhoods on the Northwest Side and caddied at the Ridgemoor Country Club. She was inspired by her family to pursue a higher education.
Her parents didn’t attend college and pushed her to “take advantage of the opportunities given to her.”
Llamas was also inspired by her brothers, both of whom also received Evans scholarships. Her oldest brother graduated from Marquette University last year, and another is in his junior year at Northwestern University.
Llamas wanted to “thank my parents for the opportunities they gave me,” she told the Sun-Times. “I also want to thank my brothers for being such great mentors and always being there for me.”
Llamas is majoring in agriculture and biological engineering, interests that made her a logical choice for the Evans Scholars Foundation to recommend her for the BMW scholarship. BMW is committed to building green vehicles.
This fall, 1,130 Evans scholars will be enrolled at 24 leading universities nationwide. There are more than 12,000 Evans scholars alumni since the program began in 1930, according to the Western Golf Association.
