{"id":657866,"date":"2026-06-25T17:31:43","date_gmt":"2026-06-25T17:31:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/657866\/"},"modified":"2026-06-25T17:31:43","modified_gmt":"2026-06-25T17:31:43","slug":"the-ra-foundation-announces-third-cohort-of-scholars","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/657866\/","title":{"rendered":"The R&A Foundation announces third cohort of scholars"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Royal and Ancient Golf Club Scholarship is an important part of\u00a0The\u00a0R&A Foundation\u2019s mission to provide opportunities for people to reach their potential for \u2013 and through \u2013 golf. Scholars are selected for their leadership potential,\u00a0vision\u00a0and commitment to making a positive contribution to the sport and its communities.\u00a0
\nThe third cohort will gather in St Andrews later this year for the programme\u2019s annual leadership and networking conference, where they will connect with Members of The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews, industry leaders and fellow Scholars from\u00a0previous\u00a0cohorts.\u00a0
\nRecipients\u00a0of The Royal and Ancient Golf Club Scholarship\u00a02026\u00a0are:\u00a0
\nSelase\u202fAtsriku,\u00a0Ghana\u00a0\u00a0
Area of\u00a0interest: Golf Development\u00a0\u00a0
\nMotivated by the lack of opportunities and structures for golf currently available within the region,\u00a0Selase\u00a0hopes to use media, storytelling\u00a0and industry engagement to help close the gap between Africa and more established golfing regions, while elevating the profile of the sport across the continent. In the long term, Selase wants to contribute to building a more structured and sustainable golf ecosystem in Ghana and across West Africa. This includes increasing the number of competitive opportunities for professionals, improving visibility\u00a0and creating stronger pathways from junior to elite levels.\u202f\u00a0
\nLuca Carboni,\u00a0Australia\u202f\u202f\u00a0
Area of interest:\u00a0Agronomy\/\u202fSustainability\u00a0
\nLuca is deeply passionate about advancing sustainable turf management practices, particularly in the areas of water\u202fconservation, chemical management, and the revitalisation of indigenous flora and fauna.\u202f\u202fFor over three years after secondary education,\u202fhe was actively engaged in the greenkeeping industry on Australia\u2019s renowned Melbourne\u202fSandbelt\u202fregion and is currently studying both a Bachelor of Environmental Engineering (Honours) and a Diploma of Sports Turf Management, building a strong technical and practical foundation for a career in sustainable golf. Through his work, Luca aims to help golf courses be recognised not only as sporting venues, but also as valuable ecological and community assets.\u00a0
\nLuc\u00eda Juanas Crowe,\u00a0UK\u202f\u00a0
Area of interest:\u00a0Equipment Design\u00a0
\nLuc\u00eda is currently completing an MEng in Aerospace Engineering at the University of Bath and hopes to specialise in performance-driven aerodynamic product design within the golf industry. Golf inspired her interest in engineering and continues to shape both her academic and professional ambitions. Through placements with PING in Phoenix and Loughborough, she has contributed to projects involving ball flight modelling, fairway wood face plate design\u00a0and aerodynamic research. As\u00a0Luc\u00eda\u00a0completes her degree, she sees this scholarship as an opportunity to access mentorship, expand her professional network\u00a0and continue building a career in research and development at the intersection of physics, equipment\u00a0and performance in golf.\u00a0\u00a0
\nJohnson John,\u00a0Tanzania\u202f\u00a0
Area of interest:\u00a0Golf Development\u00a0
\nJohnson\u2019s ambition is to become one of the leading figures in golf development in Africa, someone who transforms access, participation\u00a0and professional pathways for juniors, youth\u00a0and emerging golfers. Johnson\u00a0is currently an Operations Manager at the Tanzania Golf Union and a passionate advocate for golf development in Africa. Through his work, he aims to build sustainable golf academies, strengthen national structures\u00a0and create programmes that introduce golf to schools, universities\u00a0and communities that have historically been excluded from the sport.\u202fHe believes he can\u00a0play a key leadership role in shaping policies, systems, and opportunities that allow African golfers to compete, grow\u00a0and thrive on the global stage.\u202f\u00a0
\nRonan Murray,\u00a0Ireland\u202f\u00a0
Area of interest: Data Analytics\u202f\u202f\u00a0
\nRonan is currently working at Golf Ireland, where he is involved in research and data insights. Through this scholarship, he hopes to combine formal training in statistics and data science with his current work in golf.\u00a0In the long term, Ronan has ambitions to become a strategic decision-maker within golf at an international level, using evidence and insights to guide key decisions about the future of the\u00a0sport,\u202fand working at the intersection of governance, strategy\u00a0and data to help keep the sport at the forefront of innovation.\u202f\u00a0
\nKaila Regan,\u00a0USA\u00a0
Area of interest:\u00a0Club Management\u202f\u202f\u00a0
\nKaila\u2019s long-term goal is to build a career in the private club and golf industry, with a focus on hospitality operations and leadership at clubs and championship venues. Kaila recently graduated from the University of South Carolina with a degree in Hospitality Management with a concentration in Club Management, and later this year she will continue her education by pursuing a\u202fMaster\u2019s\u00a0Degree\u202fin Sport and Entertainment Management. Through experiences working at Augusta National Golf Club and events including The Masters Tournament, Presidents Cup, Ryder Cup, PGA Championship\u00a0and Wells Fargo Championship, she has developed a passion for both club management and tournament operations.\u202f\u00a0
\nJonny Robertson,\u00a0UK\u202f\u00a0
Area of interest: Business, Partnerships, Golf and Health\u202f\u202f\u00a0
\nJonny\u2019s ambition is to shape the future of golf by bridging the gap between health,\u202ftechnology\u202fand education to empower the next generation.\u202f\u202fHaving suffered a severe injury during his PGA professional training, he refocussed toward the science of player health,\u202fperformance\u202fand longevity.\u202f\u202fJonny\u00a0is\u00a0currently\u00a0in his third year studying BSc Applied Sport Science at The University of Edinburgh and developing a growing interest in commercial and partnerships. Through this scholarship,\u00a0Jonny\u00a0hopes to collaborate with peers from diverse backgrounds, broaden his perspective\u00a0and continue building towards a career focused on creating strategic partnerships that support the long-term growth and sustainability of the\u00a0sport.\u00a0\u202f\u00a0
\nMichael Rosenthal, USA\u00a0\u00a0
Area of interest:\u00a0Golf Course Design\/Architecture\u202f\u202f\u00a0
\nBuilding on more than a decade of playing, working\u00a0and travelling within golf, Michael will begin his Master of Landscape Architecture at Cornell University in August with a focus on golf course development. His long-term goal is to design and build some of the world\u2019s finest golf courses,\u00a0places that feel natural, play\u00a0well,\u00a0stand the test of\u00a0time\u00a0and create\u00a0lasting value for the communities they serve.\u00a0Michael believes that the Scholarship will offer valuable exposure to international perspectives in golf course development, enabling him to grow both technically and creatively as a professional in the golf industry.\u202f\u00a0
\nSerban Schiopu,\u00a0Romania\u202f\u00a0
Area of interest:\u00a0Golf Coaching\u202f\u202f\u00a0
\nPassionate about growing the\u00a0sport\u00a0in Romania, Serban is working towards building a long-term career in golf education and coaching, with a strong focus on grassroots development.\u202f\u00a0After competing at a high amateur level and graduating in Physical Education and Sport, Serban aims to continue his professional development as a golf instructor by obtaining internationally recognised coaching qualifications at the University of Birmingham before taking an active role in developing junior initiatives that help grow participation and raise standards within Romanian golf.\u202f\u202f\u00a0
\nSerban\u202fis currently an\u202fR&A Community Golf Instructor and hopes to use his studies and future PGA qualifications to support coaching and player development to create stronger beginner and junior programmes that make golf more accessible and welcoming to new players and create more opportunities for the next generation of players in Romania.\u202f\u00a0
\nTina Tang,\u00a0China\u00a0
Area of interest:\u00a0Golf,\u00a0Business\u00a0and\u202fTechnology\u202f\u202f\u00a0
\nTina\u2019s future career ambition is to work at the intersection of sports\u00a0business, and\u202ftechnology and\u202fhopes to contribute to the future of golf by working to make it a more inclusive and accessible sport through technological solutions.\u202f\u00a0
\nOriginally from\u202fBeijing, Tina is a fourth-year undergraduate at\u202fGeorgetown University\u202fstudying Government and Economics while competing as a Division I varsity golfer. She has developed a passion for using technology and data to make golf more accessible and inclusive. In the long term,\u00a0Tina\u00a0hopes to contribute to the future growth of golf by creating innovative, tech-forward ways to engage new audiences and inspire greater participation across Asia.\u00a0
\nChloe Tran,\u00a0Canada\u202f\u00a0
Area of interest:\u00a0Sport Psychology\u202f\u202f\u00a0
\nAs a senior college athlete, Chloe has seen first-hand how the pressures of high-performance sport can\u202fimpact\u202fboth performance and wellbeing, inspiring her to pursue a career in sports psychology and mental performance coaching. She hopes to help change the narrative around mental skills training in sport while making these resources more accessible to developing golfers. Through future work in coaching and research, Chloe aims to give back to the game of golf by creating more opportunities for learning, development\u00a0and athlete support.\u202f\u00a0
\nChloe is currently a\u202ffourth-year\u202fundergraduate student at Simon Fraser University (SFU), and\u00a0working towards earning her\u202fBachelor\u202fof Arts\u202fin Psychology, with\u202fplans\u202fto\u00a0undertake a\u202fMaster\u00a0of Science\u202fin Psychology of Sports at the University of Stirling.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Royal and Ancient Golf Club Scholarship is an important part of\u00a0The\u00a0R&A Foundation\u2019s mission to provide opportunities for…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":657867,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[39],"tags":[5904,101,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-657866","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-golf","tag-golf","tag-sports","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/657866","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=657866"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/657866\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/657867"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=657866"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=657866"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=657866"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}