James D. Standish Award Winners: Olin Alonzi, Harrison Bullotta
FARMINGTON HILLS – Evans Scholars Olin Alonzi of Harbor Springs (above right) and Michigan State University, and Harrison Bullotta (above left) of Rochester and the University of Michigan are the 2026 winners of the James D. Standish Award.
The award is presented each year to an outstanding Evans Scholar at the Michigan State and Michigan chapters. The Executive Committee of 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.
Alonzi, a junior at Michigan State with future law school plans, caddies at Wequetonsing Golf Club in Harbor Springs, and Bullotta, who will graduate in May and start a career in wealth management, caddies at Oakland Hills Country Club in Bloomfield Hills.
The Standish Award winners are selected for having demonstrated scholarship and leadership in their Evans Scholar chapter’s affairs. A permanent plaque that includes the inscribed names of each year’s winners is displayed in the lounge of each campus Evans Scholarship house, and winners are presented with replicas of the plaques. The GAM will bestow the awards at its spring annual meeting, May 6.
Alonzi, 20, who is in the College of Social Sciences at MSU, was surprised to learn he had won the Standish Award.
“My whole idea of being in house leadership was to give back and help set things up for others in the future,” he said. “I wasn’t shooting for awards, especially for doing something to help the house that has given me so much. I know a couple of the (past Standish Award winners) and they were people I looked up to and wanted to resemble. I just wanted to be half as good as leaders as they were, so winning this tells me I’m doing something right.”
Bullotta, 22, said the Standish Award adds to the blessings he has received being an Evans Scholar at Michigan.
“It has been an amazing four years, and it started with being named an Evans Scholar,” he said. “It not only solved issues with being able to go to college, it set me up to have incredible experiences and build amazing relationships. My closest friends are Evans Scholars and it’s so wonderful to be surrounded by them and have them in my life. I studied abroad for a year and even met an Evan Scholar in my program in Greece. The impact of the program is incredible.”
Alonzi started as a caddie at Wequetonsing at age 11 and was led to golf by his father, Thomas, who has worked for Boyne for 30 years and is an area manager at The Highlands in Harbor Springs.
“It’s a small unique club so as a caddie you get to know all the members personally, and the way we do things there, where the older caddies teach the younger caddies, had me prepared to be a leader as an Evans Scholar,” he said. “It put me the fire of leadership early and prepared me for college in so many ways.
While at MSU, Alonzi, who is also an Eagle Scout, has served as the vice-president of scholarship house operations, been the vice chair of Young Americans for Freedom Foundation and made the Dean’s List three times.
“I’ve played golf since I was little and loved being a caddie, so the game will continue to be a part of my life,” he said. “I’ve gained so much and I know I’ll be giving back to golf and the Evans Scholar program. It has had such a profound impact on me, and I want others to have that, too.”
Bullotta credits his mother Laura for introducing him to golf. He caddied for a year at Great Oaks Country Club in Rochester and has been at Oakland Hills since 2019 where he has caddied over 300 rounds.
“You meet and caddie for community leaders every round,” he said. “I’ve built some strong relationships through customer service, and when you are at Oakland Hills there is this great atmosphere around golf. It’s been a tremendous experience.”
While at Michigan, he served as vice-president of New Scholar Education integrating incoming freshman to college life and house culture and has also been the head of University Relations for the house and served on the Executive Board.
After graduation in May, he will start his career with Plante Moran in Chicago where he had an internship last summer.
“Being an Evans Scholar and being at the University of Michigan has me prepared,” he said. “I’m excited for the opportunity and the next step in my life. Golf helped get me here, and I plan to find ways to give back to the Evans Scholar program in the future.”
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