EVERGREEN PARK, IL — Star Evergreen Park Community High School golfer Colin Kelly is the latest Mustang to earn the prestigious Chick Evans scholarship. Kelly was notified of his award through a letter he received in the mail on February 27. 

“When I got home from school that day, my dad said there’s something for me on the porch,” Kelly remembers. “I opened the letter and a flag fell out, and that’s how I knew.” 

Earning the Chick Evans scholarship, a full-ride college scholarship for golf caddies who qualify, has been a goal of Kelly’s for much of the time since he started caddying at the Ridge Country Club as an 8th grader. 

The process, however, was an extensive one in the final months before the deadline. 

“I had to fill out a bunch of college application stuff, write an essay, my parents had to fill out some forms, as did the school counselors, and I had to send in my caddie record,” Kelly said. “I knew there was a good chance, but you never know until you find out for sure.”

“I was obviously thrilled when I found out and in shock. I’m still probably in a little bit of shock,” he added. 

Chick Evans scholars are asked to select their top five college choices, in order of preference, but the final say on where they are headed is up to the scholarship committee, so long as it’s one of the five schools. 

Kelly said his order of preference is Kansas University, the University of Illinois, Indiana University, the University of Missouri and the University of Illinois-Chicago. 

If he gets his top choice, Kansas, Kelly will be reunited with 2023 Mustang alum and former golf teammate Jack Donnelly, a Kansas freshman who was awarded the same scholarship a year ago. Other recent EPCHS winners of the scholarship are Leo Cassidy (University of Illinois), Danny McQuillan (Indiana University) and Nellie O’Grady (Indiana). 

Kelly has “lots of ties” to Kansas, he said. 

“My mom went there, I have cousins who’ve gone there, and my grandparents actually live in Kansas.” 

He’s also going to try to continue his golf career in college, whether he’s at Kansas or any of the other four possible schools. 

“I’m going to try to walk on,” said Kelly, who qualified for the 2023 IHSA state golf finals as an individual and finished 21st overall at the state level. 

Making state as a senior was a big moment for Kelly, who came just shy of doing so his junior year. 

“It was awesome to see all the hard work pay off and finally be able to go down there,” he said. 

Kelly’s stardom in golf didn’t actually begin until after he began caddying. 

“I’d golf twice a year with my grandpa when I was young, but wasn’t really serious about competing until freshman year,” he said. “Caddying definitely helped me get into golfing. I’d watch the results. Eventually I became addicted to golf.” 

EPCHS Golf Head Coach Scott Pasek said Kelly “got good pretty fast,” moving up from JV to varsity early on his freshman year. 

“I saw he had a lot of potential right away,” Pasek said. “He was the medalist several times at JV, and actually had the low score at his first varsity meet as well.” 

With Kelly’s high school golf career now in the books, Pasek has the task of keeping the program at a high level without its star. 

“It’s gonna be a big hit losing this guy next year,” Pasek said. “With Colin, you always had someone you could count on to be the low score. He’s irreplaceable, but it’s always nice to see these young men you’ve made a relationship with move on and be successful. Colin has a lot to be proud of.” 

Pasek also praised Kelly’s “golf etiquette.” 

“Colin takes seriously how much the rules of the game matter, and has helped other players who are less knowledgeable,” Pasek said. “I think that ties into his caddying, where at the Country Club rules matter and doing the appropriate things matter. He took that golf etiquette and brought it to our small world at EP.” 

Even as he moves on to larger endeavors, Kelly, nicknamed on the course as the “Crafty Norwegian” after learning more about his ancestry, will remain a proud Evergreen Park Mustang. 

“I always tell people that I’m 4 percent Norwegian, but 100 percent Mustang,” he said.