Evan Beck wins elusive USGA championship in front of home crowd
by CHRIS LANG
VISION
FULFILLED
Evan Beck wins elusive USGA championship in front of home crowd
The gallery ringing the championship 10th green at Kinloch Golf Club in late September cheered wildly as Evan Beck sank a 6½-foot par putt to beat Bobby Massa and claim an elusive victory in a United States Golf Association ( USGA ) Mid-Amateur .
Beck looked around , soaking in the moment . Parents Gary and Jeanne were in the crowd . So were plenty of friends and fellow competitors from Beck ’ s days of playing in Virginia State Golf Association championships . But one of the first people to greet Beck on the green was Vinny Giles , Virginia ’ s most decorated amateur competitor and Kinloch ’ s patriarch .
“ He ’ s been good to me , very generous with his time and advice ,” Beck said . “ It was really so special to get the win at his place — which means so much to him — and in the state that means so much to us . He ’ s been great to me since I first met him when I was in high school , and he ’ s been a great mentor and a really good friend . Really cool to have him there to be a part of it .”
For Beck , a member at Princess Anne Country Club in Virginia Beach who now lives and works in Washington , D . C ., the victory proved to be sweet redemption after years of close calls — especially in match-play events .
Beck reached the final of the 2023 U . S . Mid-Amateur at Sleepy Hollow in New York , but quickly fell behind Stewart Hagestad , trailing 7 down through 21 holes . And though Beck rallied , he simply ran out of holes in a 3-and-2 defeat . During Beck ’ s junior days , he reached the championship match of the U . S . Junior Amateur , only to run into a Cameron Peck buzzsaw in a 10-and-8 defeat .
Since regaining his amateur status , Beck has reached the semifinals of the VSGA Amateur twice , playing well in both instances but simply running into a hotter player in losing matches to 2021 champion Jimmy Taylor and 2022 champion Ross Funderburke .
26 V IRGINIA G OLFER | N o v e m b e r / D e c e m b e r 2024