An excerpt from the 2026 Spring issue of the GAP Magazine
By John T. Iswalt
Caddying and content creation tethered T.J. Corcoran to the Philadelphia Cricket Club. The J. Wood Platt Caddie Scholarship Trust ties him to college and career success.
“Platt is such a great opportunity. It provides you with so many great resources,” Corcoran, 23, of Lafayette Hill, Pa., a three-year Platt recipient, said. “If there’s something that you want to do and you want to be a part of in the greater Philadelphia golf region, the Platt Scholarship will have no problem helping you achieve that.”
Corcoran began caddying when he was 18. His first experience under the strap occurred at Philadelphia Country Club. A year later, Corcoran moved over to Philly Cricket.
“I got into it because a friend offered me a job,” Corcoran, who graduated from Plymouth Whitemarsh High School in 2021, said. “I’ve always worked in sports in one way or another, whether that was at an ice rink or at DICK’S Sporting Goods. Being outside sounded like a pretty good gig.”
With the encouragement of members and club staff, Corcoran became a Platt Scholar in 2023. After spending a year and a half at Montgomery County Community College, he transferred to West Virginia University (WVU). He majors in sports and adventure media.
“I had a bunch of people from both Philly Country and Philly Cricket who wanted me to apply,” Corcoran said. “It was a really easy process.”
Corcoran’s greatest caddie commandment is tailoring the player experience to each individual. Adjusting the level of caddie involvement needed during each round is a self-proclaimed personal strength.
Philly Cricket is a staunch supporter of the Trust. In 2025, the club tied for second on the list of clubs with the most Platt Scholars at 10. The club also made the second-largest annual donation of all GAP Member Clubs that year at $234,175. Jim Smith, Jr., Cricket’s COO/Director of Golf and Flourtown General Manager, serves as the Philadelphia PGA Section Representative for the Trust.
“Our membership takes great pride in not just supporting the J. Wood Platt cause, but also in getting to know our J. Wood Platt Caddie Scholars on a personal level,” Smith, 58, of Rydal, Pa., said.
The Trust’s fruits extend far past tuition support. Year after year, Corcoran attends the EMPOWER Scholar Leadership Summit and the Scholar Brunch. At the Leadership Summit, Scholars embark on a day of conversation, learning and networking aimed at sharpening their professional skills. The Scholar Brunch is a day of celebration where Scholars, donors and friends of the Trust connect and reflect on the past year.
At WVU, Corcoran is involved in social media content creation for the university’s club hockey team. In his role, he shoots and edits photos and videos for use on social media and in other promotional materials. Previously, he’s produced video content for the football team. He shares his creations on his Instagram, @tjc.fx.
Corcoran’s content creation journey began in high school when he became involved in shooting video for Plymouth Whitemarsh’s hockey team. During his freshman year, he attended Montco athletic events and created sports videos for free. His portfolio earned Corcoran the aforementioned football and hockey content positions at WVU.
“I owe all of that to caddying. I never would’ve been able to buy my first camera or the two upgrades after that,” Corcoran said. “Caddying gave me both a financial means to achieve my goals while also giving me amazingly valuable experience and life skills.”
When not shooting for WVU athletics, he spends time honing his craft as a freelance content creator. His 2025 itinerary included trips to Boston, Chicago, Knoxville, Tenn., and New York. He even joined WVU hockey on a winter trip to Europe (Finland and Sweden).
Corcoran blended his worlds of caddying and content when a pair of national championships visited Cricket in the last two years.
In 2024, Cricket hosted the U.S. Amateur Four-Ball Championship. After looping for Daniel McBrien of Holly Springs, N.C. and Smith Summerlin of Raleigh, N.C., who fell in the Round of 32, Corcoran assisted Cricket’s communications staff by capturing video for the final two days of the Championship.
When the Truist Championship, a PGA TOUR stop, was contested on Cricket’s Wissahickon Course in 2025, Corcoran caddied in the pro-am. His assigned pairing included Austin Eckroat and Justin Thomas. After his successful content contributions during the Four-Ball, Cricket gave Corcoran the nod again to help capture fan-experience content during the championship rounds of the Truist.
“His help was invaluable during our coverage,” Cricket Director of Communications Lila Smith, 43, of Philadelphia, Pa., said. “It was thanks to his genuine interest and commitment that we were able to capture some key behind-the-scenes moments that might have otherwise been lost to history.”
Upon graduation in May, Corcoran is set on pursuing a career in the sports media industry.
“Between the life skills you learn from caddying, the money that you make and also the Platt Scholarship, I think my life would be a lot different and probably a lot more difficult if I didn’t have those experiences,” Corcoran said. “I’m very lucky to be surrounded by the people I am at the Cricket Club and in the GAP in general.”
