“My life would’ve been different” – Rich Beem reveals how he avoided Tiger Woods and won a major
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Rich Beem
Birdies play a vital role in golf and hold the power to change not just the course of a round but even of a tournament. American golfer Rich Beem has one such birdie to thank for keeping Tiger Woods from a 16th career major championship.
The incident took place during the 54th hole of the 2002 PGA Championship at Hazeltine. Beem’s birdie meant precious little, cutting his compatriot golfer Justin Leonard’s lead from four strokes to three. However, Beem, who marked his presence on GOLF’s Subpar Podcast, explained, in hindsight, it was that birdie that made all the difference.
He further went on to mention that the timing of birdie didn’t come late on a Sunday afternoon, nor did it drive a dagger into the heart of Woods’ odds of winning the tournament.
“I made an 8-10 footer on the 18th green on Saturday to get into the final group with Justin Leonard,” Beem recalled to hosts Colt Knost and Drew Stoltz. “That was probably the biggest putt of the week for me.”
“I wouldn’t have won” – Beem explains why
Notably, Beem’s birdie changed his final-round pairing as he found himself in Sunday’s final pairing alongside Leonard. Otherwise, he would’ve been paired with none other than the legendary Tiger Woods.
The Arizona native golfer reckoned that adding the best player in the world to the pressure of contending for the first time at a major would’ve been far too much for him to handle then.
“Absolutely, there’s no doubt [it was a blessing to avoid Tiger],” Beem said. “If I had missed it, I would have been four back of Justin, but I was only three back going in on Sunday. But four back or three back going in on Sunday, it wouldn’t have mattered.”
“My life would have been completely different,” he said. “I wouldn’t have won.”
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Sachin Arora
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