Beem aces his way back into spotlight after too long away  PGATOUR.com Contributor LOS ANGELES -- It was more than a hole-in-one for Rich Beem, who's been among the PGA TOUR's missing for far too long. It was a reason to celebrate in excess, to leap upon the Nissan Altima Coupe he won -- at the Nissan Open, you wouldn't expect anything else -- and lie on the roof, waving his arms.  Rich Beem is in the hunt for his first win since the 2002 PGA Championship. (Hunter Martin/Getty Images)
You remember, Beem, right? In consecutive starts, he won the 2002 INTERNATIONAL and the PGA Championship at Hazeltine, in the latter holding off that Tigre Woods chap. He once sold cellular phones and stereos. A great story. For a while. He hasn't won since, though. Hasn't come close to winning. Had only one top-10 finish in 25 starts last year. Dropped to No. 126 on the money list. So, the logical question is, "What happened?'' "Golf happened,'' said Beem, without a shred of bitterness. "Life happened. "It's pretty simple. I mean, I win a major championship, and I'm on top of the world, and there's only one place for me to go, and that's down. Between having kids, moving cities and trying to deal with everything else in life, golf wasn't a priority to me.' But now, finally, once again it is. At 36, more settled, Beem seemingly is back. He finished ninth three weeks ago in the Buick Invitational. And now, after a 6-under par 65 on Saturday in the Nissan Open -- those aces pick up a quick two strokes on the leaderboard -- Beem is only two shots out of the 54-hole lead.. It was a 7-iron on the 176-yard 14th that sent Beem from a cumulative 8-under to 10-under, and then he took over third place with a birdie on No. 17. It's ol' Lefty, Phil Mickelson, still setting the pace, if barely, at 13-under-par 200, Padraig Harrington next at 201 and Beem at 202. Heady company for a man who has stepped out of the past. The three will be the final grouping Sunday, and Mickelson, for one, is delighted. "I like Rich's free-wheeling style of play,'' he said. Beem's literal over-the-car-roof merriment had some precedent. He watched Peter Jacobsen dive into a car after Jake's ace in the Nissan Open 13 years ago. "I'm sorry,'' Beem said with a laugh. "I wish I could take full credit for making a fool of myself, but I stole that. Jake had a convertible and hopped into it. I will never forget that. Today, I just saw the car and thought, might as well. I'll tell you the top of that hood was pretty warm, and the back is a little scratched up from my shoes.'' The weather has been great so far at the Nissan Open, after seven years in succession of at least some rain and often, a lot of rain. The temperature on course at Riviera Country Club, Saturday, was 85 degrees, which would account for a hood that was "pretty warm.'' Conditions are supposed to change Sunday, with the thermometer dropping perhaps into the 60s, but Beem is confident his golf will remain about the same, especially at Riviera. "This is my favorite course on TOUR,'' Beem said. Even if the last few years weren't his favorite time on TOUR. "How can you get excited about going to work when you don't see anything good happening,'' Beem asked rhetorically. "I wasn't playing good. I felt Iike I was practicing hard, but I was always searching for something. Always working on something. Just nothing good happening. "I went out there with the best intentions, but once things started going bad, it's just, 'This stinks,' and it was no fun. I won't say I dreaded going to tournaments, but I certainly didn't look forward to going to them.'' Searching, searching. For a swing. For a putting stroke. Anything that would work from week to week. "A Band-Aid,'' said Beem. He would find the magic. Then lose it. And try not to lose his mind. "This game, everybody will tell you, it beats you up eight days a week,' 'Beem said, borrowing the title of the old Beatles song. "It got me down for a while, but it's starting to be fun again, which is nice.'' Beem had five birdies, the hole-in-one, an eagle of course, and only one bogey for the 65 at par-71 Riviera. That on top of a 69 Thursday and 68 Friday. "I don't know if I have a different approach to it. I'm the same guy, just a little bit older ... I think as you get older, you grow up.'' With the allowed exception of reacting to making a hole-in-one. Copyright 2007 PGATOUR.com. All rights reserved. |
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