Why you should root for the Beemer down the stretch
By Stan Awtrey, PGATOUR.COM Contributor
If you're looking for a guy to pull for during the last four weeks of the PGA TOUR's Fall Series, here's a suggestion: Root for Rich Beem.
Beem won the 2002 PGA Championship, beating Tiger Woods at Hazeltine. It was quite an accomplishment, since Tiger had two good knees back in those days and was generally as unbeatable as Larry Bird in a game of HORSE.
And now? After missing the cut at last week's Valero Texas Open, Beem remains dangerously close to losing his exempt status on TOUR. Tournament directors and fans -- and the media -- don't want to see that to happen.
Why, you ask, does the PGA TOUR need Rich Beem? It's like asking why John McCain needs to carry Ohio or like why Paula Deen needs an extra pound of butter in the kitchen when she cooks. It just makes sense.
Beem is an outgoing guy. He doesn't mind signing things for kids in the autograph line. He'll shake a hand and politely pose for a photograph after a practice round. His pro-am partners love him. Tournament sponsors love him. He's got personality. Never seen him hide behind sunglasses and grab the BlackBerry while leaving the scoring tent just to avoid contact with the fans. That would be un-Beem-lievable.
Remember at Riviera Country Club a couple years ago when Beem made a hole-in-one and won a car? A lot of guys could have smiled, given a half-wave and walked down the fairway. Stay cool, right? Not Beem. He jumped on the top of the automobile, gave it a big hug and showed -- just like the average guy -- that winning a car was a big deal.
Another classic Beem moment came a few years ago when he was playing in a pro-am and struck up a friendship with a high school kid driving around the course in a cart, helping with the tournament. The kid told Beem he was going to the senior prom, but learned the boy didn't have enough money to rent a limo for the occasion. So Beem removed his money clip, shook down a couple his playing partners, and gave the kid $500, more than enough money to do it up right and make a fan for life.
It's not unusual for Beem to roll into town prior to a TOUR event and show up at the local muni for a quick 18. He said it's fun to play those courses with the baked-out fairways, bowl-shaped greens and unkempt bunkers. Most major champion winners don't think that way.
Beem is everything the TOUR needs in one of its representatives, but if he doesn't play better during the next month, his opportunities to compete will be diminished. And that would be a shame.
Casual observers believe a player can forever cast aside his worries after winning a major championship. Fans think a player is elevated into a new level once he wins the PGA Championship and can play whenever and wherever, for as long as they like. Wrong.
That misconception applies to Beem.
The PGA TOUR grants winners of the PGA Championship a five-year exemption. After that, a player must earn his way through good play, which is the way it should be. It means a player needs to finish among the top 125 on the money list to keep his privileges. This season a guy probably is going to need to win between $750,000-$800,000 to stay in the club.
Here's where the pull-for-Rich-Beem plan comes into play.
Beemer dropped two spots after he missed the cut in Texas. Beem enters this week's Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospital for Children Open at No. 128 on the money list ($686,872) and likely needs about $100,000 more the rest of the way to keep his card. (Last year, Mathias Gronberg nabbed the 125th spot with $785,180.)
Beem, whose five-year exemption for winning the PGA Championship ended after the 2007 season, pulled off the same feat a year ago when he notched top-25 finishes in the final two Fall Series events to finish 119th on the money list to secure his card for 2008. He made $93,033 in those last two events.
Of course, even if he doesn't squeeze into the top 125 this fall and keep his TOUR card, it may only be a matter of inconvenience for Beem next season. He can still write letters to the sponsors and ask for an exemption -- and they will no doubt unfailingly oblige. He'll likely get enough invites to give him enough opportunities to rejoin the top 125 for 2010, if it comes to that.
But let's not think that way. A guy who has given so much to the game and has been a friend to the fan doesn't need to endure that drill.
So when you sit down to watch this week's event in Las Vegas, think good thoughts for Rich Beem. Say a prayer for him, if you will. Don't pray that he'll win -- although that would be a two-year exemption -- but don't hesitate to ask the Almighty to bless the Beemer.
Not only for him, but for the rest of us.
Stan Awtrey is a freelance columnist for PGATOUR.COM. His views do not necessarily reflect the views of the PGA TOUR.
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