On Thursday afternoon (Aug. 15), Darius Rucker made a fan’s day.
Diehard Rucker fan Noah Enright was surprised by the country star at an unexpected meet-and-greet at the BMW Championship at Medinah Country Club in Illinois, where Rucker handed him an autographed guitar, plus a VIP ticket and experience package for the upcoming Hootie and the Blowfish tour stop in Chicago on Aug. 24.
But Enright’s not just an ordinary fan. He’s an Evans Scholar at Marquette University in Milwaukee. Which means he caddied his way to a full-ride scholarship at the Jesuit university. (A value of roughly $60,000 for each academic year, so close to $250,000 all in.) To even qualify for the prestigious Evans Scholarship, you need to have caddied for two years, have an excellent academic record, score above average on standardized tests, have letters of recommendation from golf club and high school officials, and demonstrate financial need.
In addition to having all that, Enright is also killing it at school — he is a senior with a 4.0 GPA, who holds down two jobs on campus, was elected to be the Marquette University Evans Scholar President earlier this year, is majoring in secondary education and history, and teaches guitar lessons. “I love music so much,” Enright said before the meet and greet. “Listening, playing, going to concerts, and pretty much anything else you think about music.” As he continued talking about his love of music, Rucker walked up to him, congratulated him and handed him a guitar.
Then Rucker told him that he and his buddies were welcome to come down to his Chicago show, and all Enright could say was, “Are you serious???”
The entire conversation was punctuated with Rucker’s infectious, hearty laugh.
From the sound of his Instagram post, Enright’s already ready for some kind of stage.
Before Enright knew anything about the meeting with Rucker, he was originally just at the tournament to caddie for Abraham Ancer.