Rich Beem

The son of Larry Beem, the late PGA Professional and former golf coach at New Mexico State. In 2002, Beem joined a nine-member group of PGA Champions who were sons of PGA Members. The list includes Chick Harbert (1954), Doug Ford (1955), Jack Burke Jr. (1956), Dave Marr (1965), Raymond Floyd (1969, '82), Davis Love III (1997), Keegan Bradley (2011) and Justin Thomas (2017).
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 and went off to become an assistant pro in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. At the same time was playing on the Dakota Tour. At the same time got engaged to a girl who would go off to college in Washington, when Beem struggled with his game he was also missing his fiancee. Beem had to make a choice and he did, quitting golf, moving to Seattle where he lived with his fiance, and sold cell phones and stereos in the shadow of the Space Needle. Regained his desire to play golf when he watched Paul Stankowski, who he knew while playing college golf, win the 1996 BellSouth Classic. He played for the first time in almost a year and got the bug back to start playing again. Also watch fellow El Paso, Texas, resident J.P. Hayes win the 1998 Buick Classic. After that left Seattle and his fiance, to return to El Paso and took an assistant professional job at El Paso Country Club. The only time he has finished in the top-10 on the PGA Tour before his 1999 Kemper Open win was at qualifying school when he finished T-8th. Got 30 investors that gave him $80,000 to back him on the PGA Tour for 1999. In 2002, won the International and then had his biggest win in his next start winning the PGA Championship. Went on to finish 7th on the money list with earnings of $2,938,365, then finished 71st on the money list the next year with a runner-up finish at the Western Open. It was his last good year on the money list as he has struggled, only finishing in the top-125 of the money list in 2005 and 2009. His T-6th at the 2009 Mayakoba Golf Classic is the last time he has been in the top 10 on the PGA Tour. Did have a bulging disc between his C6 and C7 vertebrae in 2010 that required surgery and has been healthy since. While Beem was expected to only miss six weeks, rehabilitation issues caused the layoff to encompass the remainder of the 2010 season. Beem played the 2011 season on a medical exemption that will require him to make $658,100 in 17 events. He missed his first six cuts of the 2011 season before making the cut at the Valero Texas Open. He finished T-15th. Beem made just five cuts in 21 events. As a result, he lost his tour card and is playing out of the "past champions" category in 2012. He played on the European Tour in 2012. Both ventures weren't very successful as in 18 European Tour events only had one top 25, T-11th at the Sicilian Open. On the PGA Tour in nine starts best finish was T-12th at the Mayakoba Golf Classic.
2013 Notes: Tried to make a comeback, playing in India, Panama, on the PGA Tour, European Tour, and Web.Com tour. In 8 starts only made two cuts finishing T-15th at The Gujarat Kensville Challenge (in India) and T-52nd at the Panama Claro Championship. Tried to Monday qualifying but that proved to be very hard.
2014 Notes: Only played in four events around the world, missing the cut in Zurich Classic, Barracuda Championship, PGA Championship, and Hong Kong Open.
Since then has only played six times, missing the cut in the 2015 PGA Championship, T-73rd at the 2016 PGA Championship, missing the cut at the 2016 UBS Hong Kong Open, missing the cut at the 2017 and '18 PGA Championship, finishing T-80th at the 2019 PGA Championship and T-55th at the 2019 Houston Open. He has turned his energies to a new challenge, television working full time for Sky Sports.
2020 & 2021 Notes: Missed the cut at the 2020 3M Open and PGA Championship. Also missed the cut in the 2021 PGA Championship. In 2020 he turned 50 and made his PGA Tour Champions debut at the Charles Schwab Series at Ozarks National, he finished T-70th. For the two-year season, Beem played in 13 Champions Tour events and had one top-25, T-11th at the 2021 Senior Open Championship, and finished the season 95th on the money list with $101,370.
In 2022 missed the cut in the PGA Championship and Senior Open Championship, he withdrew from the KitchenAid Senior PGA Championshp after a first round 75.
He is maintaining his Sky schedule and will play off and on the PGA Tour Champions.