After being out of the house for a semester while it underwent a $6 million renovation and expansion (CLICK HERE), they moved back in earlier this month. … Then they started up school for the spring semester. … After activating 13 of their members last week, they elected new leadership for the house on Monday. … And on Thursday at Colorado Golf Club, a selection committee will interview finalists for the E.S. class that will enter the house in August.

Suffice it to say there’s been no lack of happenings for the CU Evans Scholars lately.

The Scholars at CU have long been a flagship program for both the CGA and CWGA. The Illinois-based Western Golf Association/Evans Scholars Foundation, which administers the Evans Scholarship nationwide, is a longtime partner of the CGA and CWGA in supporting the scholarship at CU. Through CGA and CWGA bag-tag sales and Par Club contributions, Colorado donors fully fund the year-to-year scholarship costs at the CU Evans Scholars house.

Since the 1960s, more than 440 CU alums have been produced by the Evans Scholars program, which provides high-achieving caddies with significant financial need full tuition and housing scholarships that are now estimated to be worth an average of $80,000 each.

The new executive board and other leaders (pictured above) who were elected this week by the CU Evans Scholars — along with where they caddied — are:

President — Jordan Gillmore (Lakewood CC)

Executive VP — Asni Solomon (Solich Caddie Academy at CommonGround GC)

VP of New Scholars — Peter Evans (The Alotian Club in Roland, Ark.)

Administrative VP — Dalton Anderson (Cherry Hills CC and Solich Caddie Academy at CommonGround GC)

VP of Finance — Kobe Padilla (Denver CC)

VP of Communications — Andrea Pickford (Green Valley Ranch GC)

House Manager — Tim Johnson (Roaring Fork Club)

Social Chair — Alex Atwater (Shinnecock Hills GC in Southampton, N.Y.)

Athletic Director — Soren Fuchs (Denver CC)

Perhaps it’s the fact that Cherry Hills Country Club is home to the largest caddie program in the state.

Perhaps it’s that Cherry Hills this September will host the BMW Championship, the PGA Tour event which sends its proceeds to the Evans Caddie Scholarship.

Or perhaps it’s that three caddies from Cherry Hills were finalists for full tuition and housing Evans Scholarships at the University of Colorado.

Whatever the case, the recent Evans Scholars selection meeting at Cherry Hills produced or matched several records, at least for recent decades.

The Illinois-based Western Golf Association, which partners with the CGA and CWGA in supporting the Evans Scholarship at CU, has offered 14 Colorado teenagers the scholarship, each worth more than $70,000 if renewed for four years. That matches the highest number of in-state recipients in a single class for at least the last 20 years.

In addition, the 40-plus Evans Scholars applicants in Colorado were the most in a couple of decades. And the 140 people who attended the selection meeting (left) at Cherry Hills last week is believed to be an all-time high for Colorado.

The Evans Scholarship is a flagship program for both the CGA and CWGA. Through CGA and CWGA bag-tag sales and Par Club contributions, Colorado donors fully fund the year-to-year scholarship costs at the CU Evans Scholars house.

That house, home to fewer than 30 Scholars less than a decade ago, is expected to include between 45 and 50 caddies in the 2014-15 school year thanks to an incoming class that will probably exceed 15 when out-of-staters and possible additions from Colorado are factored in.

The 14 new recipients of Evans Scholarships at CU who were announced Thursday include three caddies each from Cherry Hills and the Basalt-based Roaring Fork Club, two each from Denver Country Club, Lakewood Country Club and the Broadmoor Golf Club, and one each from Castle Pines Golf Club and Aspen’s Maroon Creek Club, which produced its first Evans Scholar.

In addition, four of the incoming Evans Scholars received their start as caddies at the Solich Caddie & Leadership Academy at CommonGround Golf Course before “graduating” to other clubs.

Here are the 14 new Evans Scholars named Thursday, with their hometowns, high schools and the clubs at which they caddie:

— Dalton Anderson (left) of Firestone, homeschooled (Cherry Hills CC and Solich Caddie Academy at CommonGround)

— Blake Biskner of Colorado Springs, Doherty HS (Castle Pines GC)

— Kyle Bruna of Carbondale, Roaring Fork HS (Roaring Fork Club)

— Soren Fuchs of Denver, Denver East HS (Denver CC)

— Benjamin Garcia of Lakewood, Lakewood HS (Lakewood CC)

— Bradley Garcia-Garza of Aurora, Mullen HS (Cherry Hills CC and Solich Caddie Academy at CommonGround)

— Jordan Gillmore of Broomfield, The Academy of Charter Schools (Lakewood CC and Solich Caddie Academy at CommonGround)

— Timothy Johnson of Basalt, Basalt HS (Roaring Fork Club)

— Arturo Mata-Martinez of Denver, Machebeuf HS (Cherry Hills CC and Solich Caddie Academy at CommonGround)

— Kobe Padilla (left) of Centennial, Cherry Creek HS (Denver CC)

— Alexandra Revilla Serrano (pictured at top) of Carbondale, Basalt HS (Roaring Fork Club)

— Audrey Sichel of Carbondale, Aspen HS (Maroon Creek Club)

— Perrin Swoveland-Bailey of Colorado Springs, The Vanguard School (Broadmoor GC)

— Zoe Welz of Colorado Springs, Manitou Springs HS (Broadmoor GC)

With four young women in the group, the Evans Scholars at CU will remain about one-quarter female.

The newcomers are well distributed at clubs across the state, with four located on the Western Slope, two from Colorado Springs, one from Castle Rock and seven from the greater Denver metro area.

The group, collectively, has set a high standard in high school, with 10 of the 14 being in the National Honor Society. The grade-point average norm is 3.74, while the ACT entrance exam average is 27.7.

Caddying-wise, the newcomers average almost 90 “loops” for their career.

To qualify for an Evans Scholarship, applicants must have excellent caddie records and academic results, show strong character and leadership, and demonstrate financial need.

The Evans Scholarship, one of the nation’s largest privately funded scholarship programs, was established in 1930 by Charles “Chick” Evans, winner of a U.S. Open and two U.S. Amateurs.

Nationwide, the Evans Scholarship has 14 houses at various universities, mostly in the Midwest. The scholarship has produced more than 9,800 graduates, including about 420 from CU. Approximately 840 Evans Scholars are currently enrolled across the country, and about 240 scholarships are expected to be awarded for the incoming class of 2014-15.

Evans Scholars typically excel academically, with a cumulative GPA of 3.25, and a 90-percent-plus graduation rate.

 

When the boys state high school golf championships are held Monday and Tuesday, the fields will feature two players who made the final 64 at the U.S. Junior Amateur, the brother of a three-time girls state high school champ, a player who will be fresh off competing in a Champions Tour event at Pebble Beach, and a team that has won a Colorado-record seven consecutive state titles.

In other words, the three state tournaments won’t be lacking for storylines. When the 5A meet is played at Murphy Creek Golf Course in Aurora, the 4A at Hiwan Golf Club in Evergreen and the 3A at Pueblo Country Club, here are some of the things to watch:

— Spencer Painton of Regis Jesuit, runner-up in the 5A state tournament last year, qualified for the 64-player match-play bracket at this year’s U.S. Junior Amateur. There, he lost to Scottie Scheffler of Dallas, who went on to win the national title.

Painton (pictured above) was a regional champion at Murphy Creek, the site of the 5A state tournament after it was moved following flooding at CommonGround Golf Course. Earlier this week, he also won a tournament that featured Colorado junior all-stars from all classifications, the CJGA Collegiate High School Invitational held in conjunction with the Mark Simpson Colorado Invitational college meet.

— Josh Seiple of Valor Christian, arguably the favorite in the 4A state meet, has qualified for the last two U.S. Junior Amateurs. This year he advanced to match play before losing in 19 holes in his round-of-64 match.

Seiple, who has committed to play college golf at the University of Mississippi, has finished in the top 10 at each of the last two 4A state tournaments.

(Seiple, in black, is pictured at left hitting, with defending 5A state champion Kyler Dunkle of Douglas County looking on.)

Two of Seiple’s Valor teammates won CGA junior state titles this year, with Ross Macdonald prevailing in the Junior Stroke Play and Jake Staiano in the Junior Match Play.

— Kobe Padilla of Cherry Creek will compete in the 5A tournament after spending the weekend at Pebble Beach playing in the Champions Tour’s nationally televised Nature Valley First Tee Open at Pebble Beach. Padilla, a member of the First Tee of Denver, will be partnered there with fellow Coloradan Mark Wiebe, who is coming off his second Champions Tour victory of the year.

— Michael Tait of Columbine, a regional champion in Class 5A, is the brother of Ashley Tait, who won three 4A girls state high school titles from 2002-05 while attending Mullen. Michael Tait also plays football for Columbine.

— Meanwhile, Kent Denver, competing in Class 3A, will be trying to extend its Colorado record for consecutive state golf titles to eight. But unlike in recent years, the Sun Devils will be long shots to win. They finished fifth in their regional meet, but did qualify four players for state.

Here are some of the nuts and bolts leading up to the three state high school championships:

— 2012 Individual Champion Returning — Kyler Dunkle of Douglas County (5A).

— 2012 5A State Top 10 Individual Finishers Returning — Kyler Dunkle, Douglas County (first); Li Chen, Legacy (second); Spencer Painton, Regis Jesuit (second); Donny Kinnaman, Grand Junction (fourth); Chris Korte, Regis Jesuit (sixth); AJ Ott, Fort Collins (sixth); Neil Tillman, Ralston Valley (10th).

— 2012 4A State Top 10 Individual Finishers Returning — Glenn Workman, Pueblo West (third); Chase Federico, Pueblo South (fifth); Josh Seiple, Valor Christian (seventh); Jacob Rudosky, Cortez (eighth); Taylor Rodriguez, Pueblo South (ninth); Ross Macdonald, Valor Christian (10th).

— 2012 3A State Top 10 Individual Finishers Returning — Brian Coleman, Estes Park (fourth); Dylan Jirsa, Estes Park (fourth); Payton DeVencenty, Lutheran (seventh); Hayden Nicholaides, Lutheran (ninth); Cole Folwell, Alexander Dawson (10th).

— Defending State Team Champions — 5A: Regis Jesuit (three-time defending champs); 4A: Pueblo South; 3A: Kent Denver.

— 2013 Regional Team Champions — 5A: Boulder, Regis Jesuit, Columbine, Cherry Creek. 4A: Silver Creek, Valor Christian, Cheyenne Mountain, Durango. 3A: Aspen, Trinidad, Alexander Dawson, Holy Family.

— 2013 Regional Individual Champions/Co-Champions — 5A: Grant Rogers, Boulder; Erik Young, George Washington; Spencer Painton, Regis Jesuit; Michael Tait, Columbine; Brooks Hoffman, Fossil Ridge. 4A: Todd Millard, Silver Creek; Josh Seiple, Valor Christian; Glenn Workman, Pueblo West; Patrick Shin, Cheyenne Mountain; Jacob Rudosky, Cortez. 3A: Cooper Gould, Vail Christian; Mason Dotter, Salida; Cole Folwell, Alexander Dawson; Hayden Nicholaides, Lutheran.

— 2013 CJGA Collegiate High School Invitational Results (held Sept. 23-24 at Colorado National GC in Erie) — 1. Spencer Painton, Regis Jesuit, 82-71-69–222; 2. Josh Seiple, Valor Christian, 77-73-75–225; 3. Jake Staiano, Valor Christian, 76-77-74–227; 4. Glenn Workman, Pueblo West, 84-75-70–229; 5. Chris Korte, Regis Jesuit, 77-75-78–230; 6. (tie) Coby Welch, Valor Christian, 81-76-79–236; Kyler Dunkle, Douglas County, 82-77-77–236; 8. Ross Macdonald, Valor Christian, 80-79-79–238.

Here are tee time links for Monday’s first rounds of state: 5A, 4A, 3A.