Owen Brewer, Andrew Hendren Named James D. Standish Award Winners
By Greg Johnson
Country Club of Lansing caddie Owen Brewer of the University of Michigan and Andrew Hendren of MSU, a caddie at Red Run Golf Club in Royal Oak, are the 2023 winners of the James D. Standish Award – for demonstrated scholarship and leadership in their chapters.
The award is presented each year to an outstanding Evans Scholar at the Michigan State and Michigan chapters. The Golf Association of Michigan established the award in 1968, a year after the passing of James D. Standish, a former champion golfer, GAM and USGA president who helped Chick Evans of the Western Golf Association start the renown caddie scholarship program.
Brewer, 21 and an Aerospace Engineering major with a 3.7 GPA, is the first Evans Scholar from the Country Club of Lansing to receive the Standish Award. He said he was inspired by the last three Standish winners from the Michigan Evans Scholar house – Erik Haneberg, Noah Zaatar and Reily Ellis.
During his time at Michigan, Brewer was elected twice to serve on the Michigan Evans Scholars Executive Board. He was vice-president of community engagement in 2021 and chapter president in 2022. Last summer he completed a summer internship as a software development engineer at Apptio in Seattle, and will soon start his career in aerospace engineering with Raytheon Technologies, a missiles and defense company in Tucson, Ariz.
Hendren, 22 and a finance and psychology double major with a 3.9 GPA, plans to continue his education in law school. He said winning the Standish Award is an honor and he is grateful to be recognized for leadership in the MSU Chapter.
As a caddie Hendren said he focused on carrying the bag and knowing the rules, and he didn’t start playing the game regularly until he was in college.
“I know it's going to be a lifelong passion and a lot of work, but my swing is improving,” he said. “I’m still in the learning phase. My favorite part of the game is being able to spend time with family and friends on the course. My dad always says, ‘drive for show, putt for dough,’ but a drive right down the middle is my favorite shot.”
