Duke’s Picks Two To Share Fourth $1,000 Golf Scholarship of 2020

Sometimes, it’s easy to pick a winner of the Duke’s Junior Golf Scholarship — $1,000 awarded in every issue of Cascade Golfer to a young golfer in the local area who shows a passion for golf, and a commitment to academics and community service.

Other times — like this month — it’s much tougher. When browsing through the nominations we’ve received from parents, grandparents, teachers, coaches and mentors — even siblings! — the scholarship committee (including Duke’s Seafood founder Duke Moscrip and his son and COO, John Moscrip) had a tough time parsing between the many outstanding young candidates. Do you pick the one with the strongest golf credentials? Or maybe the one with the most community service to their credit? Should age or need be relevant, or should you just focus purely on the facts? It’s a tough call in every issue, but this time, it proved even more challenging.

So it is that the committee ultimately decided to split this month’s scholarship into two and award it to a pair of young golfers who each appear to have bright futures ahead of them.

Nixon Dremousis is heading into fourth grade this fall, but you’d be wise to decline a friendly wager from him on the first tee. Already this year, Nixon has logged over 40 rounds of golf, with a low score of 77 at Washington National. Yep, you read that right — 77, before he’s even entered the fourth grade. Nixon first broke 80 at the age of 8, firing a 79 at West Seattle last summer, and has become a regular in the local youth tournament scene. In 2019, Nixon entered the Jackson Juniors tournament in the 6-12-year-old age division and proceeded to win by 11 strokes, shooting a oneunder-par 30 over nine holes. He’s also begun playing in PGA Junior League and WJGA events, and placed second last month among nine-yearolds in the WJGA District 2 Finals.

Yeah, this isn’t the last we’re going to hear from this kid.

Nixon also works hard in school, and participates in both school and community charities. Last year, he and his friends formed an Eco Club at school and collected trash at local play fields and community centers. He also plays yearround soccer and baseball, and never sleeps. OK, we made up that part about not sleeping, but really, this kid somehow does it all.

“Nixon is very excited and honored to have been selected!” said his father, George Dremousis. “He is humbled and honored to be recognized by Duke’s and Cascade Golfer, and plans to save the money and add it to his college fund. He’s a special kid, a tremendous golfer, and has learned a ton from playing golf and embodying all the positive characteristics we love about the game. Thank you!”

He’s not the only one who’s special, though.

Like Nixon, Anastacia Johnson has also been working hard on her game, while committing herself to being an all-around great student and community member. A product of The First Tee of South Puget Sound, Anastacia has blossomed into one of the state’s top junior players. Now entering her senior year at Tacoma’s Stadium High School, Anastacia has earned top-10 finishes in nine of her last 12 WJGA tournaments, including a fourth-place effort at last month’s WJGA Western Open at Capitol City in Olympia, where she fired back-to-back rounds of 72-74, and the medalist honor at last year’s Sub-District Championship at Wing Point Country Club in Bainbridge.

Anastacia also plays for the Stadium High School girls’ team, and passes on nights out with friends to instead volunteer with Young Life, mentoring middle-schoolers in the Tacoma area. It’s a sign of her influence on those around her that Anastacia was nominated by her sister, Una, who wrote, “There is no one that loves the game of golf more than her. Not only does she work hard on her own game, but she also helps team- mates be the best they can be, both on and off the course. As her sister, I know the benefit that golf has had on her life through etiquette, new friendships and the ability to work independently. Anastacia is a perfect candidate for this scholar- ship, and it would mean the world to her.”

The team at Duke’s agreed, and as a result, both Nixon and Anastacia will be receiving $500 checks to put towards their growth and develop- ment in the game.

“We are very excited to be able to assist and endorse these two outstanding young people,” says John Moscrip, a former junior golfer him- self who understands the financial obstacles to high-level success in the game. “Every time I read about kids like this, I’m grateful to know that the future of our game is in their hands. With their passion and effort, they’re definitely going places.”

And, with that, two more outstanding candi- dates have been cleared from the deck — which means we need to hear from you! Send an email to editor@cascadegolfer.com and let us know about a young person that you think deserves $1,000 from Duke’s Seafood. Nominees need only to be of high school age or younger, with a demonstrated passion for golf. Of course, in a crowded field, strong academics and a commit- ment to community service doesn’t hurt, either.

To learn more or to send in your nomination, visit CascadeGolfer.com.