Theo Pappas turned four years of hauling golf bags at Butterfield Country Club into a full ride to one of the nation's top universities.

The 18-year-old Downers Grove North graduate earned a Chick Evans Scholarship covering full tuition, room and board at the University of Chicago, valued at more than $125,000 over four years. Pappas, who graduated with a 4.0 GPA, plans to major in chemistry and pursue a career in oncology or dermatology.

The scholarship itself has deep roots in the sport. Charles "Chick" Evans Jr., a Chicago-born amateur golfer who won the U.S. Open and U.S. Amateur championship in the same year in 1916, established the program in 1930 after donating his golf earnings to create a fund for caddies. The Western Golf Association took over administration of the program, and the Evans Scholars Foundation has since grown into one of the largest privately funded scholarship programs in the country, housing scholars in chapter houses at more than 20 universities nationwide.

The payoff for Pappas traces back to a calculated decision at age 13. After his family moved from New Jersey to Downers Grove in 2018, Pappas learned that caddies who maintain strong grades can earn full college scholarships through the Western Golf Association's Evans Scholars Foundation, headquartered in Glenview. He started caddying at Butterfield before his freshman year at DGN.

"Half of being a caddie is finding the ball and carrying the clubs," Pappas told Shaw Local reporter Steve Metsch in a June 19 interview on the Butterfield patio. "The other half is moral support for the golfer."

The scholarship notification arrived in a large envelope at the family's Downers Grove home in late November 2025. Pappas said his parents, Holly and Tyler, were the most excited.

Larry Ryan, 67, alumni director for the Evans Scholars Foundation and a former Butterfield caddie who earned the same scholarship decades ago, cited Pappas' "outstanding academic features" and financial need in calling him "a great candidate." Ryan, a retired banker and former Butterfield president, speaks annually at the club's caddie banquet about the scholarship requirements. Butterfield has roughly 240 caddies.

Pappas wasn't only carrying bags during high school. He performed lead roles in nine theatrical productions and sang in the DGN choir.

The foundation awarded about 380 scholarships nationally in the 2025–26 cycle, according to its website. Pappas is one of four Evans Scholars at Butterfield this year and the only one headed to the University of Chicago, where he moves into the Evans Scholars house in September 2026.