The feeling of being the lone Israeli on the LPGA Tour as a rookie this year isn’t a new one for Laetitia Beck.
For the longest time as a kid, Beck was the only girl in Israel playing junior golf period.
“Until the age of 14, I was the only girl that really played golf. We had another girl, when I was 12, there was another girl that started playing, and now she’s in college,” Beck said.
Beck’s family moved to Israel when she was six. Her mother and father both played golf in Belgium and when they relocated to a country with only 27 holes of golf in the entire country, it just so happened to be at the only 18-hole club in Israel. Her parents still wanted to play, though, so they started having her take lessons each week. 16 years later Beck became the first Israeli ever to earn LPGA Tour membership.
In her first start as a rookie, she finished in 27th at the ISPS Handa Women’s Australian Open, but she’s now got even grander visions.
“Very proud and I know it’s just the beginning. It’s nice to be the first one to be on Tour, but now I want to do more than that. I want to become the first one to win,” Beck said. “But it’s exciting and I’m happy and excited for the things that I can do for golf in the future in Israel.”
Although Beck ensures she shows her Israeli pride at every tournament, she first represented Israel in the Maccabi Games when she was 14 and the thought of being able to potentially do so in the Olympics in 2016 is one of her main focuses in 2015.
“It’s very important to me. It’s very important for me to represent Israel all the time, not only in the Olympics,” Beck said. “In any tournament, I wear the Israeli flag. Representing Israel in the Olympics will be touching.”
Beck moved to the States for golf when she was 14. As she’s returned over the years during summer and winter breaks, she’s seen the game slowly grow in popularity.
Now, she’s hoping to see the same growth in her own game over the course of her rookie season.
“I am still working on my game. A lot of people tell me use what got you here, but I am not too satisfied with what I have right now,” Beck said. “So I’m working on every part of my game to play better than I did before.”
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