All for a Good Cause

A very cold early-fall day couldn’t put a damper on the annual Evans Cup of Colorado fundraising event and dinner, hosted by Cherry Hills Country Club on Monday.

The Evans Cup of Colorado raises money for the Evans Scholarship for caddies, and Western Golf Association director and state chairman Geoff “Duffy” Solich said it’s hoped that Monday’s event will net about $140,000 for the cause.

The University of Colorado has been home to an Evans Scholars house since the 1960s, and many of the roughly 60 current CU Evans Scholars (left) attended the festivities at Cherry Hills.

About 112 golfers played in the tournament despite temperatures in the 40s, and 200 attended the dinner.

Highlighting that dinner was World Golf Hall of Famer and three-time U.S. Open champion Hale Irwin, who grew up in Boulder and played golf and football at CU. Irwin participated in a Q&A with TV sports personality/emcee Vic Lombardi, and he provided advice and encouragement to the current Evans Scholars.

Dale Douglass, like Irwin a former CU golfer who’s a member of the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame, was also in attendance as an honored guest.

“It was a great event,” Solich, himself a former CU Evans Scholar, said via email. “We had great sponsors; BMW continues to support our event, (and) we had a very lively auction. All the Scholars joined us for dinner and took the stage at the same time. Hale was fabulous (and) Cherry Hills did an amazing job hosting the event.”

The Evans Cup of Colorado dates back to the early 1980s, when it was founded as the Par Club Tournament. The full tuition and housing Evans Scholarship is awarded to high-achieving caddies with limited financial means, The WGA, which adminsters the Evans Scholarship, has long partnered with the CGA and CWGA in supporting the scholarship at CU.