Evan Beck, a former Wake Forest golfer, wins US Mid-Am and is heading to the Masters (2025)

Evan Beck will be heading to Augusta National in April for the Masters, and he’ll be bringing his golf clubs.

Beck, a former Wake Forest golfer, qualified for the tournament by winning the U.S. Mid-Am championship last week in Virginia. Beck, 34, defeated Bobby Massa 9 & 8 in the 36-hole final at Kinloch Golf Club.

Beck, a Virginia Beach, Virginia, native, also earned a spot in next summer’s U.S. Open at Oakmont Country Club near Pittsburgh, and he’ll be on next year’s prestigious Walker Cup team.

“It’s pretty sweet,” Beck told the USGA after his win. “I’ve always dreamt of winning one of these. It’s incredible that it happened so close to home. To get all the way there and come up short is gut-wrenching. To be able to push through and prove that you can do it to yourself, more than anything, it’s pretty awesome.”

Beck lost in the championship last year but didn’t leave any doubt this time around as he opened a big lead on Massa and cruised to the win.

Beck, who is a 2013 graduate of Wake Forest and played for Coach Jerry Haas, is ranked 32nd in the world in amateur golf. Beck played on the Buddy Worsham scholarship while at Wake Forest and, in his senior season, was a All-America.

Beck was a two-time All-ACC golfer and in his senior season lead the Demon Deacons in stroke average at 71.8.

A few of Beck’s other amateur wins this year are the Coleman Invitational and the George Thomas Invitational, and he recently made the final 16 at the Crump Cup.

Beck, an associate portfolio manager in the Washington, D.C., office for Baltimore-based Brown Advisory, has been in top-flight USGA tournaments before. In 2008 at Shoal Creek, he made a run to the U.S. Junior Amateur finals as an alternate into the field, defeating Jordan Spieth in the semifinals.

Among those in the field watching the final match last week were Beck’s parents and co-founder of Kinloch, Vinny Giles. Beck became emotional when asked about Giles, who is one of the best amateur golfers in the history of the game.

“You’ve seen me cry like three times,” Beck said. “I’m probably going to do some more of that later. This is an incredibly special place. Being from Virginia, Vinny’s like my golfing hero. So, it’s really cool to be here holding this trophy.”

The next cool thing for Beck will be the Masters in April.

Wong to Augusta

Another first-time at Augusta National in April will be 12-year-old Jason Wong of Clemmons.

Wong qualified for the Drive, Chip and Putt finals that will be played on April 6, the Sunday before the Masters.

“It was my third time going through the qualifying,” Wong said.

Wong, whose family moved from Alabama to this area two years ago, joined Bermuda Run Country Club. Since they joined, Wong has been getting lessons from Casey Cline, the director of instruction at Bermuda Run.

“His mental game is really good and he’s very mature for his age,” Cline said. “He did a good job preparing for that final qualifying stage. He really does a good job of controlling is ball off the club face and is good around the greens.”

Wong’s mom, Hain, and father, Steve, are amazed at how far his game has come since they moved to Clemmons. “We are so proud of him,” Hain said. “He’s been working very hard on his game.”

Chris Ingram, the director of golf at Bermuda Run, said the entire club is excited about being able to watch Wong on The Golf Channel. The finals are broadcast live.

“We’re all super proud of Jason and his accomplishments, that’s for sure,” Ingram said. “We can’t wait to see what he does in Augusta come springtime.”

Wong, who is a seventh grader at Clemmons Middle, began playing golf as a 6-year-old in Mobile, Alabama, and he’s also a competitive swimmer.

“I’m just going to practice and listen to my coach,” Wong said.

He secured his trip to Augusta National by excelling in the chipping and putting portions of the Boys 12-13 division in the regional final. His 156-point total left him 17 points ahead of co-silver medalists Simon Myers and Grady Hayes.

Though Wong trailed by 17 points after the driving, he gained momentum by making his first chip and that led him to qualifying for the finals.

“He’s not going to be intimidated,” Cline said. “He’s just so even keel for a 12-year-old so it’s exciting that he’s made it to Augusta.”

50-year reunion

In 1974 and ’75 the Wake Forest Demon Deacons dominated college golf by winning NCAA titles. Jay Haas and Curtis Strange were the stars of those two teams, each winning the individual title as well in successive years.

Wake Forest will honor those teams in a 50th anniversary celebration over a weekend in early November. The football team plays Cal on Friday, Nov. 8, and the teams will be honored throughout that weekend.

The golf reunion weekend is being billed for every team and not just the two championship teams. The Demon Deacons also won the 1986 NCAA championship.

Ron Green Sr.

The golf and sports writing world lost an icon earlier this month when Ron Green Sr. died at the age of 95. He was the go-to golf writer in this state for The Charlotte Observer for decades and at one point covered 60 straight Masters.

I got to know Ron and his son, Ron Green Jr., as our paths crossed at the Masters and other golf tournaments we covered together.

One great memory for me was when Lenox Rawlings, a former columnist for the Journal, and I played golf with father and son at one of the Pinehurst courses. It was a great day, and I couldn’t help but notice that Ron Sr. and Ron Jr., who is an award-winning golf writer himself, had the same swing. The apple didn’t fall far from the tree in the game or the gift of storytelling.