Zyhara West Jefferson High School’s Zyhara West is among six Oregon students to earn a full-ride scholarship for golf caddies through the Western Golf Association. (WGA/WGA)
Zyhara West didn’t grow up in country clubs or traversing pristine fairways.
The Jefferson High School graduate is a Northeast Portland kid raised by a single mother with a disability. Money was always tight.
“I didn’t know anything about golf, and I didn’t know anybody who played golf,” West said. “Coming from my family, we saw golf as this very bougie, kind of upper-class activity for rich people.”
But golf would eventually earn West a full-ride scholarship to the University of Oregon through the Western Golf Association’s Chick Evans scholarship for golf caddies. She is among six Oregon students to receive the award.
The scholarship is named for legendary amateur golfer Charles “Chick” Evans, with more than 1,000 caddies per year at universities across the country receiving a full-ride through the program.
West heard about the program her freshman year of high school, she and her classmates’ first year out of pandemic quarantine. A college and career counselor at Jefferson explained that high school students who caddy and show strong academics, character and financial need were eligible.
West kept up a 4.0 GPA throughout high school and worked at Heron Lakes Golf Club in North Portland.
“The men’s club members really taught me how to play and how to be good at my job,” West said. “I’ve still never played a round of golf myself, but I’ve learned the game in learning how to do my job. I’ve always looked at it as how I can help someone and reduce their stress in this sport.”
A lengthy commute to the course via public transit became West’s regular routine. She admits feeling anxious at first, as a murder had recently taken place near the stretch where she had to walk.
But West developed a steely determination watching her mother E’lashia, who has avascular necrosis in her hips, push to make ends meet throughout her life.
“She was a single parent, and my father had been in and out of prison while fighting his own demons,” West explained. “My mom raised me at my grandmother’s house, and she was trying to go to community college while balancing multiple jobs. She had me at 20. We have never been a family with money, and my grandma has been a huge support.”
The scholarship lifted a weight off her mother’s shoulders, as E’lashia had been scrimping and saving to help her daughter pursue college.
The $125,000 will pay for West’s tuition and housing at UO, where she plans to study psychiatry.
“My mom had a full scholarship when she was pregnant with me to the University of Maryland. She was going to go into forensic psychology and wanted to study the criminally insane,” West said. “I thought that was the coolest thing in the entire world when I was younger, especially with my father being in the criminal justice system his entire life and losing fights to drugs.”
While golf may not be a regular part of her life during college, West said she still has club members who are interested in contracting her caddying services. It will be a good way to earn some extra money, as college expenses go well beyond tuition or room and board.
“Since she arrived at Heron Lakes four years ago, I’ve watched Zyhara grow from a quiet, capable newcomer into one of the most reliable and respected caddies on the course,” club member Jim Daly said. “Zyhara’s also just a lot of fun to have around, which is a valuable attribute for any caddy looking for work. She’s smart, funny, and brings a tremendous energy to every round.”
As she works her way through UO with the desire to eventually earn higher degrees and build a deeper knowledge of the human mind, West said her own background and experience will stay with her.
“My mom is a Black woman, and I have been surrounded at a majority-minority school surrounded by students who have it the hardest,” West said. “When you see people face those challenges every day in a country that isn’t made for them to survive in, it gives you a sense of what is really, truly hard in life.
“The struggle my mom has had in trying to balance these things in her life has been a driving factor in showing me what I can do. If she can do all of that, why can’t I do these small, hard things?”
— Ryan Clarke covers the Oregon State Beavers for The Oregonian/OregonLive. Reach him at RClarke@Oregonian.com or on Twitter/X: @RyanTClarke. Find him on Bluesky: @ryantclarke.bsky.social.
