What do Tiger Woods, Phil Mickleson, Davis Love III, Mike Weir, Charles Howell III, Jim Furyk, Cristie Kerr, Justin Leonard, Notah Begay, Chris Riley, Matt Kuchar, Ben Curtis, Ted Purdy, Bill Haas, Tom Watson, Annika Sorenstam, Emilee Klien, Dottie Pepper, Grace Park have in common, apart from the game of golf, of course. All these leading players are the products of college golf scholarships - having honed their skills through the toughest level of amateur competition that has given them an extra advantage over their peers.

Many youngsters have been motivated to take up the game following Tiger Woods success and unlike the past, are also encouraged by parents who foresee it as a great career opportunity. Apart from the odd summer camp and local competitions, junior and college golf scholarships help a young golfer to establish a strong foundation for such a tough career choice. Few realise that most of the top golfers in the world today have graduated with flying colours in the game - Tiger joined Stanford University in ‘94 and in the two years that followed, he won ten collegiate titles and finally the NCAA (National Collegiate Athletics Association) title. He was the youngest to win the US Junior Amateur as well as the US Amateur, winning the latter three times before turning pro. Similarly, the women’s number one, Annika Sorenstam was also the NCAA All-American champion in ‘91 and ‘92 and won seven collegiate titles while playing college golf at the University of Arizona. In India, this also holds true for some of our top professionals - Arjun Atwal, who is the first Indian to play on the PGA Tour, Jeev Milka Singh and Shiv Kapur, the country’s only individual gold medallist in golf at the Asian Games have all graduated assisted by golf scholarships in the US.

College golf in the United States provides the best facility with as many as 759 schools offering NCAA golf scholarships for men and 482 institutes offering the same for women, in divisions I, II and III. The reasons for the US being ranked as the best place to pursue college golf are numerous. However, it is also the home of the PGA Tour. Secondly, it is possible to play golf all year round, unlike Europe and thirdly, they provide some of the most hi-tech golfing and coaching facilities in the world. And they are looking for young potential - their coaches attend junior championships to recruit talented golfers!

According to the Royal and Ancient, the game’s governing body, “a university or college in the United States of America may provide a student attending the institution on a golf scholarship with financial assistance that may include tuition, room and board, required course related books and incidental fees (i.e.) everything a student would normally pay at such an institution.” While a complete scholarship takes care of all these requirements, there are also part scholarships and it is on the basis of these that divisions I, II and III are formed. Division I member institutions have to sponsor at least seven sports for men and women and two team sports each. These schools have to meet the minimum financial aid awards for their athletics programs but cannot exceed the maximum financial award as laid down in the rules. Division II institutions have to sponsor at least four sports for men and women each as well as two team sports. Many of the athletes playing in division II cover their costs through a combination of scholarship money, grants, student loans or salary earned through student employment. Meanwhile Division III institutions have to sponsor at least five sports for men and women each and two team sports but most of these athletes receive no financial aid for their athletic ability in the sport.

Apart from these scholarships, various other organisations like the American Junior Golf Association and the LPGA Tour also give grants to upcoming golfers. The AJGA makes contributions to various junior programmes and the ACE (Achieving Competitive Excellence) Grant provides financial assistance to young golfers so that they can compete on the junior circuit at a national level and gain exposure in order to earn golf scholarships.

Meanwhile, the LPGA Tour administers the Dinah Shore Scholarship, awarded annually to a female high school senior who demonstrates academic achievement, leadership and community involvement while participating in junior golf and/or high school golf programmes and is pursuing a college education but will not be playing collegiate golf. Similarly, the Marilyn Smith Scholarship, granted annually supports women who plan to major in education or business and continue to play competitive golf at an accredited college or university. The RMHC Youth Golf Scholarship is given to junior golfers who come through an LPGA junior program for post-high school education.