Meet the teen headed to Penn State on full scholarship, courtesy of being a golf caddie

Abigail Schmucker didn’t know much about the nuances of golf.

She’s not a player and only recently received her first set of clubs.

What she does have a keen interest in — and ever-improving knowledge of — is the speed of a green, the slope of a fairway, and what lies in the rough, specifically on the course at Ardmore’s prestigious Merion Golf Club where for the last few years, Schmucker, 18, has been a caddie, and one of the first women to be employed as such in the 128-year history of the club.

It’s a job she thoroughly enjoyed as she recently finished her senior year at Haverford High School and will head to Penn State with plans to study biobehavioral health in hopes of becoming a physician’s assistant.

She’ll be able to pursue that degree with all expenses paid courtesy of her side hustle as a caddie after being one of four recipients from the Greater Philadelphia Region of the Platt Evans Scholarship, a privately funded initiative offering full tuition and housing to one of 24 schools of choice, exclusively for golf caddies.

A pair of other Philly-area junior caddies received full rides to college through the program. In addition to Schmucker. Seniors Ronan Donaghy (Penncrest) and Wyatt McCafferty (Ridley) were announced as recipients, completing a Delco sweep of schools featuring students to gain from the experience.

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Founded in 1930, Platt Evans estimates that the scholarship for a single recipient is valued at $125,000 for a four-year degree program. This year, it’s said that 340 junior caddies from across the country will receive the honor, and over 1,100 caddies are enrolled at four-year colleges and universities tuition-free courtesy of the initiative.

You can do the math. As for Schmucker, she doesn’t have to.

“You know, I’m very thankful,” Schmucker told The Inquirer. “I think when I started the job three years ago, I didn’t realize what experiences and opportunities it was going to lead me to. To be in this position, it’s just unbelievable and I’m so very fortunate.”

Golf has long been an indirect part of Schmucker’s life in some form. At home, it was her father, an avid golfer, who Schmucker will attest, “loves the fact that I work at Merion.” However, it was a sixth-grade teacher who introduced her to the notion of getting into caddying — and what it could lead to.

It just so happens that the teacher, Nate Oxman, is also the golf coach at Haverford High — and even introduced the sport at the middle school level. Oxman was the one who put the idea in Schmucker’s head, but it was Schmucker who took the suggestion to a full ride to college.

“Yeah, he was my middle school English teacher,” Schmucker said of Oxman. “He was one of my favorite teachers, and I kept in touch with him. In his office, he always had a sign about the [fellowship], so I applied because I thought it was a smart decision for college, but I didn’t think about [it] really after I applied. There are so many possibilities and this was just one of them I never thought would happen for me, honestly.”

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Schmucker took the job not knowing what to expect. Being a caddie just isn’t about carrying bags and cleaning clubs, it’s also about lending expertise about the course, answering golfers’ questions on crucial shots, having an understanding of greens, and being able to read them.

Schmucker had no experience in any of that. But she was determine to learn.

Flash forward to today and she has no problem offering a few tips to the golfers she caddies for at Merion, which has two 18-hole courses she has walked countless times and has become a second home. She’ll note that it didn’t happen overnight but through patience and guidance from senior caddies at the club — as well as the teacher who put the bug in her ear.

“When I got the job, I didn’t know anything about golf. I didn’t have any background information on like, what clubs were best or how to read the greens or anything,” said Schmucker. “I was fortunate to have Nate as a mentor, and also the older senior caddies who took time out of their day to teach me everything that I needed to know, little tips and tricks about where the green breaks, where the ball is going to go. They instilled confidence in me to become more skilled at my job.”

All of that said, Schmucker offered a caveat:

“I am still a teenager, and I definitely don’t know as much as some of the caddies out there or even golfers that I’m caddying for, but I’ve also felt like that doesn’t matter as much when everyone creates an atmosphere to allow you to grow and learn from. At Merion, I’ve gotten that over the countless times that I’m out there and that’s what I feel confident taking into this next step.”

Perhaps what’s even more poignant in Schmucker’s decision to become a caddie at Merion is that she also became a pioneer. Alongside three friends, Schmucker became one of the first young women to work as a caddie.

“It’s enjoyable to have that distinction but even more enjoyable to do the job with my friend as well,” Schmucker said, who noted that her best friend also got involved as a caddie at the club. “I’m very close with them and to have four of us girls that were the first caddies at Merion is really cool.”

With all of the golf she has to watch and analyze, there are times Schmucker says she does wish she was a golfer, but there’s been no rush. Her aunt just gifted her a set of new clubs this year, not that she’ll have a ton of time to get to use them before heading off to live and learn at the Platt House, designated for other caddies on University Campus at Penn State. Besides, in her off time, she spends time on other hobbies, sewing clothes and making upcycled fashion.

There are opportunities to continue caddying at State College, but Schmucker said she plans to get there and understand the lay of the land before she figures out her next steps in golf.

Seems like that mentality has worked out pretty well for her so far.

“I think living in the house and being around other caddies will naturally offer opportunities to further my involvement in the sport of golf,” Schmucker said. “But right now, I’m excited about going to college and pursuing a career. It’s an opportunity of a lifetime and I want to take full advantage of it.”

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