Beck qualifies for U.S. Amateur tournament
By Chris Bennett
Correspondent
Taitum Beck is in rarefied air in the world of women’s amateur golf.
Beck gets to prove herself against the country’s best amateur golfers Aug. 2-8 in the U.S. Women’s Amateur at Westchester Country Club in Rye, New York. Rye is about 40 minutes northeast of downtown New York City.
“It’s another one of those moments I can’t really describe,” said Beck, who graduated from Waterford Union High School in 2017. “There’s so much drama that, in the moment, you don’t really know what it means. It was emotional.”
Beck plays collegiately at Weber (pronounced WEE-bur) State, a NCAA Division I school in Ogden, Utah, which is located 40 minutes due north of Salt Lake City.
She advanced to the Women’s Amateur July 7 out of a qualifying event at Oak Grove Country Club in Harvard, Illinois, After 18 holes Beck outlasted five other golfers in a two-hole playoff.
Beck finished tied for fourth with an 18-hole score of 70 and won the playoff.
Beck is the reigning Wisconsin State Women’s Amateur champion, and said she tries to challenger herself during practice.
“I work very hard on putting myself in stressful situations to be able to compete like that,” Beck said. “Once you’re in that situation, you don’t know how you’re going to emotionally react or how your body’s going to react.”
During her time at Waterford Beck won the Southern Lakes Conference tournament as a sophomore and senior. As a senior she earned SLC Player of the Year honors and finished 14th at the WIAA Division 1 state tournament.
Beck’s turn in the spotlight at the Amateur Open might lead to more opportunities in the world of golf, and she is open to the idea of making a living in the sport she loves.
“Of course. It’s a dream of mine,” Beck said. “It would be amazing; it would be incredible. I’m very fortunate that I will be educated, and can go whichever way I’m considering for my next steps.”
To read the complete version of this story, see the July 23 edition of the Waterford Post.
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