Rich Beem

Who is Rich Beem?

Richard Michael Beem is an American professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour.

Beem was born in Phoenix, Arizona, grew up in El Paso, Texas, and played college golf at New Mexico State University in Las Cruces.

Beem turned professional in 1994. His early career was broken up by a spell in Seattle selling car stereos and cell phones. He later regained interest after J. P. Hayes won the 1998 Buick Classic.

This changed in 1999 when Beem won the Kemper Open as a rookie. His career took a further leap forward in 2002 with a victory at the The International in Castle Rock, Colorado. Two weeks later he won the PGA Championship at Hazeltine National, one of golf's four major tournaments. To win, Beem fended off Tiger Woods, who birdied his last four holes but finished one shot behind. This victory helped establish him in the top 20 of the Official World Golf Rankings.

Until this win, Beem was best known for the book Bud, Sweat and Tees: A Walk on the Wild Side of the PGA Tour by Alan Shipnuck, which profiled his rookie year on the PGA Tour and the often wild lifestyle of him and his caddy, Steve Duplantis.

At the 2007 Nissan Open at Riviera, Beem made a hole-in-one at the 14th hole on live television on Saturday to win a new red Altima coupe, which he immediately ascended, embraced, and sat atop of in triumph. The sequence was later made into a Nissan commercial. Beem credited Peter Jacobsen for inspiring his reaction; Jacobsen aced the same hole in 1994 and hopped into the nearby 300ZX convertible and pretended to drive it.