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Rich Beem: On Winning a PGA Championship
July 2009 Special Advertising Section
Want more? Beem talks about what’s in his golf bag and life as a PGA champion in a 2008 segment of Jeff Rude’s Hate to Be Rude. And in this ESPN commercial, he takes his Wanamaker trophy for a joy ride.
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Whatta Crowd
My caddie and I decided we were going to go out to Hazeltine first thing Monday, and we were the first ones on the golf course at 7 am. We just thought, ‘Let’s go play early. Let’s have some fun.’ By the time we made the turn there were already about 20,000 fans at the golf course and by the time we finished at 10:30 there were about 30,000 fans. That’s the most people I’d ever seen for a practice round, so I knew the fan support was going to be there all week long.
Photo courtesy of the PGA of America
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Lucky Breaks
I remember quite a few shots that other people wouldn’t have even seen. Obviously the eagle on No. 11 on Sunday was pretty extraordinary. I caught a break off the tee shot because I think we were a little bit downwind and I just went for a big drive and happened to catch it extremely good. It hit on top of this knoll and kicked forward. Then, once again, the wind was a little help on the second shot. I hit an absolutely perfect second shot, so I was pretty pumped up.
Photo courtesy of the PGA of America
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Crucial Putt
The shot I remember the most was a putt for par on No. 12 the first round. I bogeyed No. 10, and I barely parred No. 11. I hit my second shot on No. 12 just over the green and hit a very, very poor chip shot to about 35 to 40 feet. I was thinking to myself that I had just won The International two weeks earlier, I was going to Seattle the next week to see a buddy of mine, and I didn’t really have any experience playing in major championships—so if I miss this shot, it’s not really a big deal. Let’s just see if you can’t get through this week without embarrassing yourself and let’s just try to play some good golf. I got up there and I made the putt and my total mindset changed from that moment on.
Photo courtesy of the PGA of America
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Why I Didn't Sweat Tiger
I know it kind of sounds crazy or maybe even naïve, but I really wasn’t concerned with him. I was having a blast playing and being in the situation. For guys who are grinders like a Kenny Perry and myself, guys who may not have all the talent in the world but certainly can play the game, you don’t have that many opportunities and when you do have that opportunity you have fun with it. I was having a blast. I was playing well. Everything I was doing seemed to be coming easy to me, so why not have fun?
Photo courtesy of the PGA of America
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The Home Stretch
I had no idea what Tiger was doing in front of me. I heard the cheers, the roars. He was playing with Fred Funk and Fred was the feel-good story of the week. I was just trying to keep myself in check coming down the last five holes knowing that I had a fairly substantial lead. I think I was six ahead with five holes to go. From there on in I was pretty much focused on myself.
Photo courtesy of the PGA of America
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Playing Partners
Probably the biggest blessing was not playing with [Tiger] on Sunday. If he and I played together on Sunday the outcome may or may not have been different. You can go back and look at it a thousand different ways, but I choose not to. It worked out to my advantage. That’s the way I look at it.
Photo courtesy of the PGA of America
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What it Feels Like to Win
It wasn’t a relief. It was just achieving something that I never thought was remotely possible, and I was very proud of the way I handled the pressure. I was telling my caddie, ‘You know, I don’t feel so good. I’m shaking like a leaf. I feel like I’m going to puke,’ and this and that. And he says, ‘Good, I got you right where I want you.’
Photo courtesy of the PGA of America
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My Game Today
Things have been a little shaky between then and now, but my game is fantastic this year. It’s really turned around. My attitude has gotten a ton better. After the PGA, I put a lot of undue pressure on myself and probably received a lot of undue pressure. People kind of looked at me in a different light. I struggled there for a few years, there’s no doubt about it.
Photo courtesy of the PGA of America
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Returning to Hazeltine
Hazeltine made me an honorary member, which was an amazing process. I’ve got a lot of friends who are members, so I’m looking forward to getting back up there and playing some golf, seeing the golf course, and revisiting some fun times I had. Hopefully, I’ll still be able to feel like I can attack the golf course off the tees like I did in 2002, which is what I think helped me win the tournament. We’ll get up there and give ’er hell and see if we can’t hole a few putts and excite the crowd again.
Photo courtesy of the PGA of America
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