+++ Diana Llamas from Chicago receives scholarship from the Evans Scholars Foundation +++ BMW donates on behalf of Viktor Hovland (NOR) for his hole-in-one at the BMW Championship 2022 +++ Ilka Horstmeier, Member of the Board of Management for People and Places, BMW AG, visits oldest Evans Scholars House in Chicago +++
Chicago. A hole-in-one is a highlight for players and spectators at any golf tournament, but the one that Viktor Hovland produced at the BMW Championship in the Wilmington Country Club last year has proved to be of considerably greater importance. Traditionally, BMW donates a full four-year scholarship for the Evans Scholars Foundation (ESF) for the first hole-in-one at the penultimate play-off tournament on the PGA TOUR. Diana Llamas has been named as the recipient of the sixth such scholarship in the history of the tournament. The young lady from Chicago is a first-generation college student and the third member of her family to earn the Evans Scholarship, following her brothers Jose (Marquette) and Daniel (Northwestern), and will study Environmental Technology at the University of Illinois.
“Being the third sibling to earn the Evans Scholarship means everything to my family. I’m so honored to be named the BMW Hole-in-One Scholar, and my brothers are so proud,” said Llamas, who plans to study environmental engineering. “The endless opportunities that come along with being an Evans Scholar are incredible – especially this one to meet Viktor Hovland, who helped make this possible for me.”
Llamas met Hovland and Ilka Horstmeier, Member of the Board of Management for People and Places, BMW AG, at the third round of the BMW Championship at Olympia Fields Country Club. “We are proud of our longstanding partnership with the Western Golf Association, and of the great impact the BMW Championship makes in the lives of so many young scholars,” said Horstmeier. “BMW believes strongly in the role corporations play in supporting organizations like the Evans Scholars Foundation, which creates opportunities for young people to reach their full potential.”
All proceeds from the 2023 BMW Championship benefit the ESF which funds full college tuition and housing scholarships for deserving caddies across the country. Since 2007, the BMW Championshp has raised more than $45 million in support of the ESF, helping more than 3,300 students achieve their dreams of attending college.
Horstmeier had already paid a visit to the Evans Scholars House at Northwestern University, the oldest of the ESF houses in the USA, where the scholars live together on campus. Together with John Kaczkowski, the CEO of the Western Golf Association and the Evans Scholars Foundation, Horstmeier enjoyed in-depth discussions with Evans Scholars and alumni.