Laetitia Beck’s sister wasn’t quite sure about the new hats she had made for LPGA qualifying school. With antisemitism rising across the U.S., was it really a good idea to publicly display Jewish symbols?
But Beck, 31, wasn’t backing down. In fact, she kept adding more – wearing the Israeli flag and Star of David on her hat, necklace, belt buckle, bracelet and shoes.
“I know the Israeli government sends warnings when we travel not to wear the Jewish symbols, but again,” said Beck, “I made those hats because I wanted to wear it. … That’s very important for me, to show my identity.”
Eight years ago, Beck became the first Israeli player to earn an LPGA card. On Wednesday in Mobile, Alabama, she earned back full LPGA status for the first time in five years, carding a final-round 5-under 67 to finish in a tie for 10th at Q-Series, earning the highest category of status available.
Her family’s past has always played a big role in driving Beck to make history for her community and for her country. Her maternal grandparents endured the unimaginable at Auschwitz, while her paternal grandparents moved around in hiding during World War II. Beck and her mother talk almost daily about the Holocaust.
It’s been two months now since southern Israel was attacked by Hamas militants, killing approximately 1,200 people and taking more than 240 people hostage.
“I didn’t try to put too much pressure,” she said of getting the Israeli flag back on the LPGA, “but I knew that it was pretty big for me, knowing what was going on.”
Since the war began, Beck’s family Whatsapp conversation includes updates from Tel Aviv on who’s in what bomb shelter at any given moment. Missle sirens have become an everyday occurrence for her parents and siblings.
Even so, Beck said that when she checks in on loved ones, they’re often out having coffee with friends or headed to the beach.
“It just shows you that my family – we are obviously devastated with what happened on the seventh,” said Beck, “but day to day we are trying to still live our lives.”
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After picking up presents for her nieces and nephews, Beck will head back home to Israel for two weeks. She wanted to be there months ago, but after finishing 20th on the Epson Tour money list (top 10 earn LPGA cards) she still had work left to do.
“Sometimes I feel guilty to be where I am,” said Beck of living in the U.S., “but I try my best to make everyone there proud.”
Beck’s family moved from Belgium to Israel in 1998 to get away from rising antisemitism. She grew up within walking distance of Israel’s only 18-hole golf course, Caesarea Golf Club. A five-time Israeli Open champion, Beck played collegiate golf at Duke and helped the Blue Devils win the 2014 NCAA Championship. That summer, she became the first Israeli woman to turn professional, debuting at the Ricoh Women’s British Open at Royal Birkdale.
Morgan Pressel played a round of golf with Beck at Caesarea Golf Club back in 2011 while on a tour of Israel with her grandmother, Evelyn, and younger sister, Madison.
“(Laetitia) is definitely a figure in golf within the Jewish community,” said Pressel, a major champion turned analyst for Golf Channel and NBC. “And it’s a small-knit group. She has so many people cheering for her that I’m sure she will never even meet.”
The difficulty of getting back to the LPGA after losing status for several years isn’t talked about enough, said Pressel, calling it one of the game’s toughest feats, both mentally and financially.
“The Epson Tour is a wonderful launching pad to the LPGA,” said Pressel, “but it’s not a tour where you can really make enough money to earn a living.”
Now that Beck is back on the LPGA, there’s no doubt, Pressel noted, that the 2016 Olympian will have Paris on her mind.
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At the beginning of the year, Beck wondered if this might be her last season. After the Oct. 7 attacks, she connected with performance coach Julie Elion, who works with Ryder Cup players Justin Thomas, Max Homa and Wyndham Clark. Beck only had two sessions with Elion before Q-Series but felt that having a new voice in her head helped her comfort levels in Mobile.
These days, people often ask Beck how they can help, and she points to organizations that are aiding the Israeli communities that have lost so much as well as the thousands of IDF soldiers who struggle with PTSD.
What’s been the most shocking for Beck, a player who was a college student in the U.S. a decade ago, is the rise of antisemitism in America, particularly among the most educated. The Anti-Defamation League reported that in the two weeks after Oct. 7, antisemitic incidents in the U.S. rose by nearly 400 percent.
“The conflict is very complicated, but the hate toward the Jewish people, there’s no reason really for that,” said Beck. “That’s the scary part.
“I always wear a Star of David necklace, but that’s the reason why I also decided for the past month to wear a big Star of David on my hat. I feel like with what’s happening now, I’m prouder and I want to be louder, too.”