Open by 15, a British by eight, on one leg at Torrey and nearly 11 years later a fifth Masters after even he thought he was done, Tiger has been the greatest thrill ride in sports. Amateur titles to 15 majors, winning a Masters by 12, a U.S. The saying “what a time to be alive” has become trite thanks to its overuse on social media, but when it comes to the era of Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson it just feels so apropos.įrom his unprecedented three consecutive U.S. Top 50 Modern Courses in Great Britain & Ireland.Top 50 Classic Courses in Great Britain & Ireland.Mexico, Caribbean, Atlantic islands, Central America.Top 40 par-3, short and non-traditional courses. ![]() But as he showed last summer, if he gets his putter going, he can be tough to beat. He never thought he could win a major until he did it. The difference is, he expects more of himself. "In golf," he says, "one day you're the windshield, one day you're the bug." In other words, he isn't going to get too wrapped up in what people say or expect of him. He won't be the out-of-nowhere player with a good story to tell this year. Now his challenge is to prove that bagging nearly $3 million for seventh place on the money list wasn't a fluke.īeem has read one national writer's prediction that "his 15 minutes are up." He also knows the expectation level will be higher. He picks his spots a lot better."īeem had two huge spots in 2002-he won the International and the PGA in consecutive starts. Sara, his wife, has been a stabilizing influence. "Rich was ill-equipped for the PGA Tour," Shipnuck said. It made good copy for a book, but his game suffered and he dropped out of the top 100 on the money list the next two years. When Beem came out of nowhere to win the 1999 Kemper Open, he treated the rest of the year as one long party. I've got to treat it as a job for a few more years."īeem then joked, "Ask me at 48 what my lifestyle is." "The reality is that I went to sleep at 8:20 the other night. "The perception is that I'm going to go out for 15 beers," Beem said. But he has toned it down quite a bit, he says. He still enjoys a few beers, which was well documented in Shipnuck's book. That goes for his conduct off the course as well: Beem says the stories of his wild lifestyle are overblown. "You can get greedy and play all over the world, but you're going to suffer over here."īeem insists he has things under control. "If I had one piece of advice to give to him, it would be to manage your time correctly," said Nick Price, winner of three majors. He's aware of the tales of players who cashed in too much and paid the price by ruining their games. "I love to play golf, and I can't sit at home if there is money to be made," Beem says.īeem doesn't know how long he is going to be in demand, so he is trying to cash in while he can. With so many offers to play for big money, he spent only 17 days at home during the short off-season. "Now you have to go through his agent, and it takes a month."īeem is learning time management, but the lessons aren't easy. "Before, he'd answer the phone on the first ring and we'd talk for an hour," Shipnuck said. ![]() His time isn't his own anymore.Īlan Shipnuck, author of "Bud, Sweat and Tees," a chronicle of Beem's escapades as a first-year touring pro in 1999, immediately noticed the difference. The whole experience has been "overwhelming at times," Beem acknowledges. He said he has been so busy he hasn't found the time to watch a complete replay of his final round at the PGA. Beem stopped short of going to a pink golf bag.īeem took advantage of his new status to earn appearance money for tournaments near (California) and far (Australia) in November and December. It seemed natural that Pepto-Bismol would want him after he noted that he takes a swig of the stuff to calm his stomach before a round. Companies also are clamoring for his endorsement.
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