JWP Caddie Scholarship

Our Legacy

The J. Wood Platt Caddie Scholarship Trust was created in 1958 by the Golf Association of Philadelphia through the efforts of then-President Walter A. Schmidt; Leo Fraser, President of the local section of Professional Golfers Association of America; and Albert Keeping, Golf Professional at Gulph Mills Golf Club. It was named in honor of Philadelphia’s premier golfer of the era, J. Wood Platt. Not only was Mr. Platt an accomplished player, but he was also the Trust’s co-founder and first contributor.

 

The Following excerpts are from A Centennial Tribute to Golf by James Finegan

Of the many great figures in Philadelphia golf, John Wood Platt was one of the most successful, and certainly one of the most colorful. He was one of the area’s best amateurs and even found success on the national level. He worked diligently in his role as a golf administrator. Platt also was one of the most loved personalities in all of golf and his practical jokes and unique observations were the stuff of legend. Yet his name will always remain synonymous with the caddie scholarship program he organized.

Born on April 16, 1899 Platt began playing golf at the age of nine. He possessed a great deal of natural talent and won the first two tournaments he entered. At the young age of 20, Platt established himself as one of the nation’s top amateurs after he defeated Francis Ouimet in the 1919 U.S. Amateur during a rain-soaked playoff. While he did not win the U.S. Amateur that year, or any year, the victory was a sign of great things to come for Platt.

 

How Oscar is Involved

Oscar studied his Bachelors degree, majoring in International Marketing and minored in Social Media Marketing/ Advertising. Before college had started, Oscar followed in his father's footsteps of being a caddie for a local country club, Cedarbrook Country Club. Oscar's tenure lasted on and off for about 10 years. During the time of being a caddie, it taught Oscar many valueable lessons that he has integrated into his business today. Oscar had first learned about the J. Wood Platt Caddie scholarship by simply being around the club members and networking on a daily basis. He was inspired and determined to be granted that scholarship as he knew he needed it to get through the cost of private school for his continued education. After multiple interviews and heart-felt stories of what college and futher education meant to him, Oscar was granted the scholarship!

Fast-forward 10 years, Oscar is now 30 years old and the founder of OM Media. For our second annual golf outing, we have confirmed that the J. Wood Platt organization has accepted to be our beneficiary for our outing and we could not be happier to give back to an amazing organization!