Elgin's Skopek excited about earning Evans Scholarship

Devin Skopek has become a student of the game of golf. And he's stepped to the head of his class.

Skopek, a senior at Elgin High School, was recently awarded the Chick Evans Caddie Scholarship, which is valued at over $100,000. Skopek will attend Marquette University in Milwaukee this fall and study business and philosophy.

Skopek, who just took up the game less than 5 years ago, has caddied at the Elgin Country Club since 2006 and is the ninth caddie from the club to earn an Evans Scholarship.

"I'm really excited about it," Skopek said earlier this week. "Just before my sophomore year my coach (Lee Turek) had told me about it and my parents had mentioned it. The day I got the letter back saying I was going to be interviewed, it all kind of became surreal. It's one of those things you don't think can happen. It's too big to comprehend. It's just now setting in."

Skopek isn't one of those kids who was born with a golf club in his hand. The only child of Richard and Amy Skopek, the east side Elgin resident took up the game at the age of 14.

"My neighbor had a set of clubs that I borrowed and my dad and I went out on Fathers Day just to go out and do something," Skopek said. "My dad hadn't played in a long time and I had never played. But we're both real competitive and I just wanted to beat him."

Devin beats his dad on the golf course on a regular basis now, he says, and has elevated his own game to a seven handicap. His best personal round in competition is a 75 at The Highlands of Elgin, and he had a noncompetitive round of 72 at Bartlett Hills. He was the top player for Elgin High's varsity squad the past three years.

"He's a great kid and I'm happy for him," said the retired Turek earlier this week, fresh off the golf course in Bradenton, Fla, also noting that he taught Skopek's mom when she was a student at Larsen Middle School.

"We didn't have many kids who were serious country club golfers and Devin really wanted to be a golfer. He worked hard at it and took any help you'd give him. He's a very nice and respectful young man. He's the kind of kid who deserves it."

But it's carrying the clubs and not swinging them that earned Skopek the prestigious college scholarship. The Western Golf Association and the Evans Scholars Foundation sponsor the scholarship each year, which is named for Charles "Chick" Evans, Jr., who learned the game as a caddie and then, in 1916, gained worldwide fame when he became the first golfer to win both the U.S. Amateur and U.S. Open championships in the same year.

Evans directed that all the money he won from golf tournaments go to funding caddie scholarships. The scholarship provides for tuition and housing in an Evans Scholarship House. To be considered, a caddie must have a strong caddie record, excellent academics, outstanding character and demonstrate financial need.

Skopek, who carries a 4.0 GPA at Elgin High, has been one of the highest rated caddies at the Elgin Country Club since he began caddying. He says it's a job he truly loves.

"I love being outside and not only do I get paid to watch other people golf, I get to learn about the game by watching other people's swings," said Skopek, who will continue to caddie at the club when he's home from college, which is a requirement to renew the scholarship each year.

"It's really helped my long game," said Skopek, who said he will try to make the Marquette golf team as a walk-on. "You see everybody trying to kill the ball and then you see someone just swinging smooth and still hitting it far. You get to see every aspect of play out there."

Skopek also got the chance to play the country club course as if he were a member. Last year he was accepted into the club's Honorary Junior Golf Program, which allows those who qualify to play the course as if they are club members.

Skopek also considered NIU before choosing Marquette.

"I was accepted to both, it just seemed like Marquette was a better fit," said Skopek, who has an interest in architecture and landscaping.

"I'm just very honored to have received this scholarship. "I still can't believe it's actually happened."

It has, and all indications are it couldn't have happened to a better person.

jradtke@dailyherald.com