DURHAM, N.C. – Add up the four years she spent at high school in Florida, her four years of college at Duke and the two years she's played on the LPGA Tour. That decade represents how long it's been since 24-year-old golfer
Laetitia Beck has been a fulltime resident of Israel.
But neither time nor distance have softened Beck's feelings for the nation where the rest of her family still lives. Her pride in Israel is on display wherever she goes, from the country's blue and white flag emblazoned on her golf bag and ball markers to the Star of David hanging around her neck. At virtually every tournament stop, she finds a Jewish host family to stay with instead of checking into a hotel.
“It makes me not feel like I'm away from home,” Beck said. “It makes me feel like I have a family with me every week. That's the most amazing thing I've experienced on tour.”
Beck readily acknowledges that she wants people to know where she comes from and to understand that her homeland is about more than war and political conflict. A major goal is to positively represent her country and her culture every week of the LPGA season — a goal that takes on heightened dimensions later this summer when she competes for Israel at the 2016 Olympics in Rio.
Beck placed 42nd in the final official Olympic golf rankings. Since spots outside the top 15 are limited to no more than two per country, Beck was virtually guaranteed a berth. She is the only Israeli woman, now or ever, to play on the LPGA Tour, and she has performed well enough to avoid being supplanted at this point.
“After it was announced that golf was going to be in the Olympics, I knew I was the only one from my country who was going to have a chance because we don't have a lot of golfers, especially professional golfers,” she said. “So I knew my competition was going to be with the other athletes. I felt like I had enough talent and that my game was good enough to represent my country.
“It was a big goal and I'm happy it's happening now — and hopefully the next Olympics we're still going to have golf.”
Beck is excited to be part of Israel's largest-ever Olympic contingent, which will number at least 46 athletes across several sports. She looks forward to marching in the Opening Ceremony and to interacting with the other members of her country's delegation. “I never really met a lot of Israeli athletes, so just meeting them and feeling part of the Israeli athletic program is going to be special,” she said.
As with her visibility on the LPGA tour, she views her Olympic appearance as a chance to raise the profile of her sport in Israel.
“More Israelis are going to be exposed and hopefully they're going to learn about the game and perhaps enjoy it, because not a lot of Israelis know anything about golf,” she explained. “They usually have a bad perception of the sport. So I'm hoping it will help them understand the sport better and that they'll be proud to have someone represent them. Obviously playing on a bigger stage and showing more people that Israel has a golfer, hopefully I can show good golf and be a good representative of my country.”
Beck actually was born in Belgium and moved to Israel with her family when she was 6. Their town of Caesarea had the only 18-hole golf course in the country, and there was a 9-hole course about 40 minutes away. Beck's parents played the sport and encouraged Laetitia and her twin sister Olivia to give it a try by signing them up for twice-weekly lessons when they were 9. Olivia didn't last long, but the athletic and competitive Laetitia began to flourish. At age 12 she won the Ladies Israeli Open and decided to narrow her interests from several sports down to just one. By 14 she was competing mostly against guys because there weren't any women at her level.
Beck moved alone to the United States for high school, attending IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla. From there she earned a scholarship to Duke and enjoyed a noteworthy college career, taking ACC rookie of the year honors as a freshman, making the All-ACC team every year and finishing as the ACC Championships runner-up for both her junior and senior seasons.
Along the way her personality matured as much as her golf game.
“When she came in as a freshman, I didn't know if she and I were going to make it,” veteran Duke coach
Dan Brooks recalled. “She was pretty tough, pretty tough to be around. She didn't trust things — she was sort of testing us, driving me crazy, that sort of thing. I probably have had no greater evolution of a relationship than she and I had. By the time she left we were real tight, and we continue to be. She changed so much and grew so much.”
Beck's 85 birdies in 2013 led the team and her 45 career rounds of par or better rank sixth in Duke history. Her best year was her last, 2014, when she crafted a sterling 72.29 stroke average, earned first team All-America honors and finished No. 14 in the final college rankings.
But more important than all those accomplishments were her performances in the ACC and NCAA Championships. She carded a final-round 68 at ACCs to take second place and help the Blue Devils win the team title. At NCAAs she closed strong again with another 68 that was critical in securing Duke's sixth national title.
Beck refers to the second half of 2014 as her most memorable year to date, as she also completed her psychology degree at Duke, turned pro and earned her LPGA Tour card in her first attempt, placing 18th in the qualifying tournament.
Beck played in 14 events last year during her rookie season, made the cut eight times and pocketed $54,278 in prize money. She has played in 14 events so far this year, making five cuts and earning $55,216.
Twice in May, Beck experienced the sensation of being atop the leaderboard in an LPGA event. At the Yokohama Tire Classic in Alabama she opened with a 7-under 65 to claim the first-round lead. Two weeks later at the Kingsmill Championship in Virginia she was in first place after carding an eagle on the 15th hole, before ending that opening round tied for fourth at 4-under 67.
In both instances she easily made the cut, shot well under par for the week and placed in the final top 20 — valuable experiences that also showed her she needs to improve her approach to dealing with pressure if she wants to contend for titles.
“That first day (in Alabama) I didn't really know what was happening (on the way to 65) but the next day, I was never in that situation, never had that much competition and that much stress before,” she said. “I never really led such a big event so I really have to learn how to handle that better. With more experience I'm sure it is going to get better. I'm happy I got myself in that place because mentally I needed to realize that I do have what it takes to compete with the best.
“I'm going to have to really work on pressure situations and try to create that pressure when I practice, the same pressure I feel during the competition. I need to feel it during practice time so I can handle the stress better. It's hard to create that pressure when you haven't experienced it.”
The 72-hole Olympic golf tournament Aug. 17-20 in Rio promises more new experiences and different forms of pressure. Israel's only professional women's golfer hopes her efforts will be noticed back home, raising awareness and promoting the sport there as she fulfills her No. 1 goal of representing her country and the Jewish people.
“I do everything I can to show people where I'm from and what I represent,” said Beck, who has spent only about two weeks per year at home in Israel over the past 10 years. “That's something that really pushes me and motivates me to get better. I'm really thankful of this opportunity I have to represent. I get so much support from so many people it's amazing.”
“She's a great ambassador for that country,” added Brooks. “You hear her say it all the time in her interviews — she talks about it and she's not afraid to accept that responsibility. That's great that she takes it in stride, is proud of it, and she plays well with that responsibility, carrying that around. She doesn't shy away from it. I think she would have shied away from it as a freshman, frankly. I think she has really stepped up.”