To still be able to scratch the competitive itch and play top-10 courses in the world is an amazing opportunity . I ’ m very pleased with how it has worked out .”
Healthy and energized , Evan Beck looks to add a huge line to his illustrious resume — a USGA championship close to home
by JIM MCCONNELL
G
ARY BECK is a longtime member and former president of the VSGA Board of Directors . When playing golf with his son , Evan , one afternoon many years ago at Virginia Beach ’ s Princess Anne Country Club , the boy ’ s approach shot missed the green right , and his ball came to rest on a patch of hardpan perched above the green .
With about 20 feet of green to work with — but a bunker in front and water looming if he went long — Evan hit a gorgeous flop shot that checked up about a foot from the hole . At just 10 years old , he then slid the club back into his bag like a veteran Tour pro who had just completed the most routine up-and-down .
“ I said , ‘ Evan , do you realize what you just did ? I could ’ ve put 15 bags of balls over there and never hit that shot ,’” Gary recalled with a laugh . “ He was very nonchalant about the whole thing — that ’ s just how he was .” a two-time all-Atlantic Coast Conference selection , a two-time All-American , and a four-time Academic All-American .
Nobody could have predicted what happened next : a back injury that ended Beck ’ s professional career almost before it began and left him wondering if he ’ d ever be able to swing a club without pain again , much less compete at a high level .
Now 33 , his days as a young phenom are long past . But with his health and amateur status restored , Beck is once again doing great things on the golf course .
Last September , he made a stirring run through the field of the U . S . Mid-Amateur as the No . 28 seed , nearly overcoming a 7-down deficit before falling 3-and-2 to three-time champion Stewart Hagestad in the 36-hole final match at Sleepy Hollow Country Club .
He followed that performance by earning medalist honors at the Crump Cup at Pine Valley , putting the finishing touches on a stellar year that began with his second consecutive runner-up finish in the Coleman Invitational at Seminole Golf Club . Beck claimed his first Coleman title in 2024 .
Evan Beck won two State Open titles at Independence GC , which is hosting U . S . Mid-Amateur strokeplay qualifying rounds .
To still be able to scratch the competitive itch and play top-10 courses in the world is an amazing opportunity . I ’ m very pleased with how it has worked out .”
USGA ( 2 )
A standout multisport athlete at Norfolk Academy , where he captained the basketball team and briefly played lacrosse and soccer , Evan Beck exploded onto the national junior golf scene during the summer before his senior year . He won two American Junior Golf Association ( AJGA ) events , including the Junior Players Championship , and then reached the final of the 2008 U . S . Junior Amateur . He went on to win his first State Open of Virginia title in 2010 as a rising sophomore at Wake Forest , where he was
“ To still be able to scratch the competitive itch and play top-10 courses in the world is an amazing opportunity . I ’ m very pleased with how it has worked out . Hopefully I ’ ll continue to contend and keep having fun at these events ,” he said .
By virtue of his finish at the 2023 U . S . Mid-Amateur , Beck is exempt from qualifying for the next three years . This year , he won ’ t have to travel far from his Washington home to chase the most prestigious title for amateur golfers aged 25 and older . The 2024 event takes place Sept . 21-26 , with