ELMSFORD, N.Y. (September 20, 2024) – Knollwood Country Club was a fitting venue for the MGA Caddie Scholarship Fund Golf Marathon on August 19. The Fund’s co-founder Willie Turnesa was an honorary member of the historic club.
Since its founding in 1956, the MGACSF has helped thousands of young people who have caddied and worked in service to golf to pursue higher education with scholarships from the Fund. The first class of scholars featured six recipients. Through successful fundraising events like the Golf Marathon and generous supporters, the fund has awarded scholarships to more than 3,000 young men and women.
Willie Turnesa’s love of the game extended far beyond winning championships and titles. Turnesa won the Westchester Amateur in 1933, 1936, 1937, and 1938. Also in 1938, Turnesa captured the U.S. Amateur and the New York State Amateur. In 1943, Turnesa took home the Florida Open. At Carnoustie in 1947, Turnesa bear Dick Chapman for the British Amateur title, one year before claiming his second U.S. Amateur title at Memphis Country Club. His acceptance of the MGA’s prestigious Distinguished Service Award in 1976 is just one reminder of the dedication and pride one man could give to the golf community.
Knollwood has supported youth caddieing throughout its history. More than 100 caddie scholars have worked at Knollwood, which makes them one of seven clubs in the greater Westchester area to reach that milestone. In advance of this year’s Golf Marathon, Longtime Knollwood member and former director of the Fund Bob Thomas recalled his early days at the club in the 1970s and fond memories of the robust caddie program.
The former caddie manager at Knollwood, Bobby Orman, lived in Yonkers and would recruit young kids from the area to come to the club and caddie during the summer.
“He would pick them up and he would get here at 6:30 or seven in the morning,” said Thomas. “And the car would be full of kids. He also would do a good job of matching up caddies to the golfers.”
Thomas’s frequent caddie in the 70s, John Rotherham, earned a scholarship from the MGACSF and attended Fordham University. He has kept the caddie tradition in the family – his son Jack caddies at Quaker Ridge Golf Club. With the aid of a scholarship from the MGACSF, Jack attends Santa Clara University, where he is currently a junior.
The MGACSF Golf Marathon is one of the largest one-day fundraisers conducted by the MGACSF. Golfers race around the course to complete as many holes as possible throughout the day. It was first played in 2009 and has raised more than $2 million dollars to directly impact the scholarships awarded by the Fund, and in the event’s history, 500 golfers have played over 35,000 holes to benefit the Fund.
“I was defending the Rules of golf and didn’t want to give putts,” said Thomas when discussing how talks began of getting the marathon started as a fundraising event. “But I finally realized, hey, we’re raising money and it’s the whole number of holes played, not how well you play them.”
The event has grown to be a large success: the 2024 Golf Marathon raised $136,000 for the Fund and featured 33 golfers playing 2,197 holes at Knollwood. This was the second time that Knollwood has hosted the event (the first was in 2019).
Historically, the club has been a supporter of youth caddieing and hiring young people to work in the game of golf. Since 1965, 114 young men and women from Knollwood have earned MGACSF scholarships, placing the club with the fourth-highest amount of scholars of all participating MGACSF clubs and courses.