I ’ ve played in 10 or 12 USGA events , but I don ’ t believe I ’ ve ever played one in Virginia . Kinloch is a spectacular venue , and I love Independence . Plus , I still have a lot of family and friends in Richmond . It will be a great couple of days … hopefully more than a couple days .”
I ’ ve played in 10 or 12 USGA events , but I don ’ t believe I ’ ve ever played one in Virginia . Kinloch is a spectacular venue , and I love Independence . Plus , I still have a lot of family and friends in Richmond . It will be a great couple of days … hopefully more than a couple days .”
At the 2008 U . S . Junior Amateur , Beck edged out a 14-year-old Jordan Spieth in the tournament ’ s semifinal round . Beck later finished second to Cameron Peck .
Independence and Kinloch co-hosting stroke play and before match play shifts exclusively to Kinloch .
“ I ’ ve played in 10 or 12 USGA events , but I don ’ t believe I ’ ve ever played one in Virginia ,” he noted . “ Kinloch is a spectacular venue , and I love Independence . Plus , I still have a lot of family and friends in Richmond . It will be a great couple of days … hopefully more than a couple days .”
Beck will be joined by at least three more Virginians who advanced through a qualifier at Willow Oaks Country Club in late July : Richmond ’ s Andrew Crowley and John Rosenstock , along with Charlottesville ’ s George Ordway . Another qualifier was held in late August , after this issue went to press .
PAIN AND FRUSTRATION
Watching Beck rejuvenate his game has been particularly gratifying for longtime buddy Brinson Paolini , who was 11 when his family relocated to Virginia Beach from Idaho . Beck was his first friend in Virginia , and they quickly bonded over a mutual passion for golf , playing “ thousands of rounds ” together at Princess Anne while pushing each other to work harder and get better .
Both competed for ACC programs — Beck at Wake Forest , Paolini at Duke — and after graduating in 2013 , they moved together to South Carolina to pursue their dreams of playing professionally . But after making it through qualifying school for PGA Tour Latino America , Beck hurt his back in early 2014 .
Thus began a nearly two-year odyssey that included visits to doctors in South
Carolina , Texas , and Virginia , in addition to steroid injections , countless physical therapy sessions , and very little golf .
“ At that time , I was traveling and playing in Europe and I was gone all the time . He was alone in our apartment and not healthy ,” said Paolini , a four-time VSGA Amateur champion . “ He ’ d go see someone and work on it , then we ’ d go play and he was in excruciating pain . It was really hard to watch . There were times he ’ d have to walk off the course — it was a lot of frustration that there ’ s something that you love and you ’ re world-class at it , but your body won ’ t let you compete .
“ The hardest part was not really knowing what was going on , not only for him , but for all of us who care about him and want to see him do well . We were so relieved when the doctors were finally able to figure it out .”
A breakthrough came when Beck ’ s friend , a Navy SEAL named Steve Van Horn , connected him with doctors in St . Louis . They diagnosed the problem as an overuse injury — muscular , not structural — and focused on strengthening the muscles around the affected area .
Finally healthy enough to practice regularly , Beck briefly attempted to resume his pro career before concluding it was time to see what he could do with his finance degree .
He landed a job as an analyst with Virginia Beach-based Vantage Consulting Group in 2018 and began preparing for the rigorous , three-part Chartered Financial Analyst ( CFA ) exam . He obtained the elite certification in 2022 and then accepted an associate portfolio manager position the following year in the D . C . offic-
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