The Westchester Golf Association Caddie Scholarship Fund (WGACSF) has completed a major rebranding and is now the Metropolitan Golf Association Caddie Scholarship Fund (MGACSF). By aligning with the Metropolitan Golf Association, the Fund’s efforts to provide need-based scholarships to college-bound students will be strengthened and continue to grow, while enhanced messaging about the Fund will increase awareness to all stakeholders.
“We are thrilled to work with the MGA and become the MGACSF,” says John Connor, president of the MGACSF. “Our organization provides significant financial aid to caddies and others who work in service to golf in Westchester County, Fairfield County and the Hudson Valley. Our new name and brand more accurately reflects the communities we reach and will strengthen our mission as we continue to grow.”
Founded in 1956, the WGACSF was established by local golf great Willie Turnesa, one of the most successful amateur golfers in U.S. history, and Udo Reinach, a member of Quaker Ridge Golf Club. The “Reinach-Turnesa Scholarship Fund” was supported by friends and local clubs to assist caddies from the Westchester County area. Since its founding, the Fund has provided $26 million in scholarships to nearly 3,000 caddies and those who work in service to golf, including young men and women who have worked in the pro shop, bag room, and on grounds or outside operations teams at participating member clubs and courses.
“The work that this organization does is incredibly meaningful, and we are proud to continue to work together to provide financial assistance to young people in their pursuit of higher education,” says Patrick Donnelly, president of the MGA. “Sharing our MGA brand with the Fund aligns with the MGA’s vision and goals of investing in and providing opportunities to youth through the game of golf.”
The administration of the Fund has been handled by the MGA staff since 2018. The Fund will continue to operate as a client association of the MGA, being managed out of Golf Central in Elmsford, N.Y., and led by an independent, all-volunteer board of directors representing 35 clubs and courses throughout the greater Westchester area, Fairfield County and the Hudson Valley.