|
Tuesday, November 24
Beem stares down Woods, wins PGA
Associated Press
CHASKA, Minn. -- Rich Beem proved everyone wrong. Most
importantly, himself.
|
Sunday at Hazeltine
|
|
EARLY BIRD: The first player to play an official practice round last Monday at Hazeltine National? Rich Beem, who hit the last shot on Sunday afternoon.
PLAYING THROUGH: Pat Perez, playing by himself to start the day, played 18 holes in 1 hour and 53 minutes. He shot 76.
SHARP SHARK: Greg Norman was one of only 13 players to make the cut in all four majors this year. Norman finished tied for 36th at The Masters, tied for 59th at the U.S. Open and tied for 18th at the British Open. Sunday, he shot 80 to tie for 53rd.
SHARPER SERGIO: Sergio Garcia was the only player to finish in the top 10 in all four majors is 2002. He was eighth at the Masters, fourth at the U.S. Open, tied for eighth at the British Open and tied for 10th at the PGA Championship.
SENIOR DAY: Tom Watson, at age 52, was the oldest man in the field. But he shot a 5-under 67 on Sunday to finish at 9-over. That was 16 shots better than his PGA career-worst 83 on Saturday. "It's bittersweet," Watson said. "...Today, I atoned for my sins of yesterday to a certain degree."
SHOULDA, COULDA: Robert Allenby finished tied for 10th at 1-over. If not for an eight at the par-3 eighth hole and a double-bogey two holes earlier on Saturday, he would have finished third.
HOLES OF THE DAY: No. 11 (597-yard par 4). Woods makes par after missing the fairway. Beem makes eagle. Beem wins by one shot. 'Nuf said.
THE LAST WORD: "I'll be on the Nick Faldo World Fishing Tour by then. Come and join me if you've got a fishing rod." -- Nick Faldo, who shot 78 on Sunday and finished in a tie for 60th place at 11-over.
-- David Kraft, ESPN.com |
Major championships are supposed to be won by guys with golfing
pedigrees, like Tiger Woods, not guys who walk away from the
Dakotas Tour to sell stereos in Seattle.
Players in only their fourth major are supposed to wilt in the
stifling pressure of the final round of the PGA Championship, not
hit one career shot after another.
''When I sat up here yesterday, I didn't know if I had what it
took to win it,'' Beem said Sunday night, the Wanamaker Trophy at
his side. ''I found out today that I do. I'm elated beyond
belief.''
When he tapped in a meaningless bogey on the 18th hole at
Hazeltine, Beem raised both arms and looked into the bright blue
sky. Then he did a shimmy shake on the green to celebrate his
stunning one-stroke victory over Woods.
''I probably looked like a total idiot out there,'' he said.
''But you know what? I won. It doesn't matter.''
Playing as if he had nothing to lose, Beem attacked the course
with fearless and flawless golf and walked away a winner in the
last major of the year.
With Woods closing in on him, Beem hit a 5-wood into 6 feet for
eagle on No. 11 to seize control of the tournament. With Woods
making four birdies on the final four holes, Beem turned him back
with a 35-foot birdie putt on No. 16.
''I'm still surprised at myself,'' he said.
No wonder.
Seven years ago, he was selling car stereos and cell phones for
$7 an hour. On Sunday, the 31-year-old Beem stared down Woods
during a crucial stretch of holes and never flinched when Woods put
together his spectacular charge.
Beem closed with a 4-under 68, then jogged over to kiss the
Wanamaker Trophy, which contains names like Walter Hagen, Ben
Hogan, Jack Nicklaus and Woods.
''I was a lot more in control of my emotions than I ever have
been under that kind of pressure,'' Beem said.
Woods did his part. Unwilling to give up after back-to-back
bogeys, Woods used those final four birdies to keep alive his hopes
of becoming the first player to win the three U.S. majors in the
same year.
Woods watched the final putt on a television in the scoring
trailer. He had told caddie Steve Williams that birdies on the last
four holes would be enough to win the tournament.
''I went ahead and birdied out, and we didn't win,'' Woods said.
''At least I gave it my best effort. We just came out a little bit
short.''
Woods closed with a 67, matching the best score of the day.
Chris Riley shot a 70 and was third at 283, his best finish in a
major and good for a trip to the Masters next year.
The PGA Championship has seen this before. Beem, who finished at
10-under 278, became the 12th player in the last 15 years to make
the tournament his first major victory.
|  | | Rich Beem celebrates after draining a long birdie putt on the 16th hole; he won by one stroke. |
One of those was John Daly, who won in 1991 as the ninth
alternate. Beem played a practice round with him on Tuesday.
''I think this win is similar to John's win in that he just went
out and freewheeled it,'' Beem said. ''He had nothing to lose --
like I felt.''
What set Beem, who shot up from 73rd to 26th in the world rankings Monday, apart from a long list of surprising winners was
the guy chasing him.
All year long, proud champions like Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer
have complained that too many players wilt when they see Woods'
name on the leaderboard.
Woods showed up quickly with three birdies and two amazing pars
on the front nine, putting him just one stroke behind Beem with
nine holes to play.
Beem didn't buckle. He simply continued to blast away.
Hitting driver on just about every hole and attacking the pins,
Beem turned a one-stroke advantage into a six-stroke lead over
Woods in a matter of four holes.
The biggest was his 5-wood second shot on the 597-yard 11th
hole.
''Come on! Come on!'' Beem yelled as the ball soared over a
cluster of bunkers, landed on the front of the green and didn't
stop rolling until it was 6 feet from the cup. He made that for
eagle to get to 10 under.
Woods played in the group ahead of Beem, although he knew who
was on top.
A scoreboard was directly behind the cup on No. 13 as Woods
stood over a 12-foot birdie putt that would have pulled him within
two strokes of the lead. Instead, he three-putted for bogey, then
dropped another shot on the next hole.
The key putt came on No. 16, the pivotal hole when Payne Stewart
won the 1991 U.S. Open at Hazeltine. Beem begged his 9-iron to
clear a marsh on the corner of Lake Hazeltine, and it barely did.
His 35-foot birdie putt was true.
Beem pumped his fist and heaved his ball in celebration.
''I had no expectations,'' Beem said. ''I really enjoyed this
golf course. I thought I could get around it. But I never expected
this.''
Beem keeps a bottle of antacid in his bag and takes a swig
before the round to calm his nerves.
Give the man a bottle of champagne. He's the toast of golf.
Beem collected $990,000 and a five-year exemption on the PGA
Tour and to the three other majors. He can return to the PGA
Championship as long as he likes.
Not bad for a guy who gave up the game in 1995 and decided he
was better off in a blue-collar job.
He was called a ''one-hit wonder'' when he won the Kemper Open
as a rookie in 1999, especially when he didn't have any top 10s the
next year and only narrowly kept his job for this season.
''To win a major, you have to have something special,'' he said
Saturday evening. ''And I don't know if I have it.''
He does now.
Beem took the lead for the first time with a bogey on No. 8 --
Justin Leonard made double bogey by hitting into the water -- and he
never gave it back.
''He just trusted and believed in himself and he got the job
done,'' Woods said. ''Sometimes it may be a benefit to be a little
naive in a situation.''
Leonard had been in that situation before, but simply didn't
have the game Sunday to stay with Beem.
The '97 British Open champion, and a runner-up at Carnoustie
three years ago, Leonard struggled to hit fairways and greens. His
three-stroke lead was gone after four holes, and he wound up with a
77, tied for fourth with Fred Funk (73) at 284.
Woods started the day five shots off the lead but got into
contention with three birdies and two big pars.
He chipped in for par on the first hole, and had an even better
save on No. 8. From thick rough between two bunkers to a downhill
pin with water behind the green, Woods hit a flop shot that stopped
within a foot of the hole.
He was one stroke out of the lead, with nine holes to play
against a former stereo salesman, and all signs pointed to his
ninth major championship.
Only it was Woods who stumbled, with back-to-back bogeys that
left him too far behind to catch up -- even with birdies on every
hole until there none left to play.
Despite Beem's victory two weeks ago in the International, not
many people knew him or expected much out of him in a major
championship.
They will now.
|
 |
|
PGA Championship