When Kaila Regan arrived at the University of South Carolina, she had a simple plan: give hospitality management a try.

She knew almost nothing about the industry. She chose the major without fully committing, figuring she’d see how the first year went before making any long-term decisions.

One orientation flyer changed everything. “Day One” is not just a slogan at USC’s College of Hospitality, Retail and Sport Management.

Walking through campus before classes even began, Regan spotted an opportunity to work the 2022 Presidents Cup at Quail Hollow Club. She applied on a whim. Then, just days later, she walked into her first hospitality class.

“Coming into college, I had no passion developed yet, so I didn’t really know what I wanted to do or where I wanted to go,” Regan says. “I really wanted to dive into this and see how much I could explore.”

That first Introduction to Hospitality course with Associate Professor Scott Smith opened her eyes to possibilities she had never imagined.

“I called my parents after that first course and told them, ‘I’m sticking with this. This is great,’” she says. "I haven't turned back since and I'm so happy about it."

Four years later, that decision has led Regan to one of the sport’s most prestigious opportunities.

The 2026 hospitality management graduate has been selected as one of just 11 members of the third cohort of Royal and Ancient Golf Club Scholars, an internationally competitive program created by The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews and The R&A Foundation to support emerging leaders who will shape the future of golf.

Scholars receive funding for graduate education and golf initiatives, mentorship from members of the Royal and Ancient Golf Club, access to an international network of scholars and annual leadership conferences at St Andrews in Scotland.

The scholarship also makes possible Regan’s next chapter at South Carolina. This fall, she will begin the College of Hospitality, Retail and Sport Management’s online Master of Sport and Entertainment Management program while continuing to build her career in the private club industry.

For Regan, the scholarship represents much more than financial support.

“It feels incredible,” she says. “I remember looking into it and seeing the stories that the other previously picked scholars had, and they were just incredible. I am so grateful be considered for a scholarship that affects so many people with so many different backgrounds."

Her path to becoming an international scholar began with her first tournament assignment.

Working the Presidents Cup introduced Regan to Quail Hollow Club’s operations and the unique culture of private clubs. The experience sparked a passion that only grew stronger as she worked the Ryder Cup, PGA Championship, Masters Tournament and other premier golf events throughout college.

“I got to see the inside operation of Quail Hollow and I fell in love with that” she says. “It made me love clubs, it made me love golf, tournaments, everything along those lines. I knew I wanted to do everything I could with this and see how far it would take me.”

She soon discovered what made club management different from other areas of hospitality.

“What has always stood out to me about private clubs is the sense of community shared by both the members and the staff. No matter what club I’m at, everyone is genuinely happy to be there because they feel like they are a part of something bigger than themselves,” she says. 

Those experiences became stepping stones to increasingly prestigious opportunities.

Today, Regan serves as assistant food and beverage manager at Congressional Country Club after previously working (while still an undergraduate student) at Augusta National Golf Club. She spent January through late April of 2026 as a hospitality operation assistant there,  supporting the preparation of all of the premium hospitality venues for the Masters Tournament.

She credits South Carolina’s hospitality management program with giving her both the confidence and practical experience to succeed at the highest levels of golf and hospitality.

“South Carolina has done the most phenomenal job preparing students for a role like this,” she says of her position in Augusta. “Having so many experiences working golf tournaments and being able to come to the Masters twice before has really helped me feel prepared.” 

Her professors noticed that willingness to embrace every opportunity.

“Kaila is the perfect example of what we hope our students will do during their time at the School of Hospitality and Tourism Management,” says Senior Instructor Jessica Chavis. “Not only did she excel academically in the classroom, but she took advantage of all the out-of-the-classroom offerings that we promote.”

Chavis says Regan intentionally sought experiences that stretched her beyond the classroom.

“Kaila was an active part of her development in college,” Chavis says. “She put herself out there by meeting with professors during office hours, participating in student organizations, applying for things that she knew she might not get and experiencing new environments that expanded her way of thinking. I could not be prouder of all she did as a student but also all that she is accomplishing already in her career.”

That willingness to pursue opportunities eventually led to the scholarship itself.

Regan hadn’t heard of the Royal and Ancient Golf Club Scholarship until Augusta National Dining Room Manager Jorge Rivera, one of her mentors, encouraged her to apply.

The lengthy international application process included multiple rounds of applications and interviews before Regan learned she had been selected, just weeks after the Masters Tournament.

Along with graduate school funding, the scholarship will take her to St. Andrews for annual leadership conferences, pair her with a mentor from the Royal and Ancient Golf Club and provide funding for a golf initiative of her own design.

Regan hopes to use that opportunity to make golf more accessible, particularly for those who may not see the game as welcoming or affordable.

“I feel like women aren't as encouraged to play the sport, and it's a sport that you might look at and think you need a certain amount of money to be able to afford to play. Trying to reverse that mentality is what I seek to do,” she says. “I hope to do something that encourages people who aren’t as privileged to feel welcome in this community.”

The scholarship also required recipients to pursue an additional two years of education, making South Carolina’s Master of Sport and Entertainment Management program a natural fit.

“I wouldn’t be anywhere without everything that South Carolina has given me,” Regan says. “I felt that it would be wrong to even consider going anywhere else because I’ve built such a strong foundation there.”

The online format allows her to continue working full time at Congressional in Bethesda, Maryland while expanding on the knowledge she gained as a hospitality management student.

The connection between hospitality and sports has become increasingly clear through her experiences in golf.

“Something about sport is that it almost always involves hospitality,” Regan says. “If you go to an arena, there’s food, there’s beverage, there’s corporate hospitality involved. They overlap so much, and I’m so interested in hospitality specifically within sports that the degree makes sense.”

Although her career has already included experiences that many professionals spend decades pursuing, Regan isn’t rushing to define exactly where she’ll end up.

She remains equally fascinated by club operations and tournament management, knowing that both paths offer opportunities to create memorable experiences for guests and members.

“I’m leaving a lot of doors open,” she says. “I have a huge interest in both club management and tournament operations. I’m looking forward to taking more steps and seeing where it all goes.”

Looking back, Regan often thinks about the freshman who walked past a simple flyer during orientation without realizing it would change her life.

She now offers similar advice to students just beginning their own college journeys.

“I think it really is what you make of it,” she says. “Saying yes to everything and taking as many opportunities as you can."

For Regan, saying yes led from a first-year orientation flyer to golf’s grandest stages, from uncertainty to purpose and now to an international scholarship that will help shape the next chapter of both her career and the future of the game.

It all started by taking a chance on an opportunity on day one.