We were proud to host our 2025 Caddie Banquet this past weekend, honoring the dedication, perseverance, and hard work of all First Tee students participating in this phenomenal workforce development program.
This season, 83 First Tee — Greater Philadelphia students caddied at 19 different clubs — including seven new additions: Merion, Pine Valley, Aronimink, Springhaven, Green Valley, Gulph Mills, and Union National. Our existing partners include Philadelphia Cricket, Whitemarsh, Commonwealth, Huntingdon Valley, Union League Torresdale, Rolling Green, Llanerch, Lookaway, Riverton, Cedarbrook, Chester Valley, and Overbrook.
Philadelphia Cricket led the way with 20 First Tee caddies this season. Looking ahead to 2026, we hope to welcome Philadelphia Country, Old York Road, St. David’s, and Waynesboro to our growing list of partner clubs.
Together, our caddies completed 1,288 loops and earned over $130,000 in wages this season.
- Top male caddies: Hank Charlton (58 loops), Lewis Cantres (43), and Jake Ruppert (41).
- Top female caddies: Caitlyn Plover (33 loops), Cara Plover (22), and Julianna Schmerling (19).
Eight young women participated this season, completing a total of 94 loops and earning approximately $9,400.
Our newest Caddie Academy cohort of 57 students completed 358 loops and earned $35,800. Leading the rookies were Christian Passio (27 loops) and Jocelyn Wallace (11 loops).
We are also proud to celebrate our scholarship recipients:
- Max May became the first caddie to earn the Western Golf Association Evans Scholarship, attending Penn State on a full college caddie scholarship.
- Caitlyn Plover and Sal Campagna received the J. Wood Platt Scholarship, which supports their college tuition at Loyola and Widener Universities.
Looking ahead to 2026, eight First Tee Caddie Academy students will apply for Evans and Platt scholarships. Evans Scholarship applicants include Hank Charlton, Jake Ruppert, Lewis Cantres, and Sean Allen — all of whom have completed more than 120 loops. Platt Scholarship applicants include Jake Smaron, John Diamond, Olivia Diamond, Billy McCalley, and Tyler Mariathason.
Congratulations to all our Game Changing caddies for their outstanding achievements on and off the course!