Richard Michael Beem (born August 24, 1970) is an
American golfer who plays on the PGA Tour.
Beem was born in Phoenix, Arizona, grew up in El
Paso, Texas, and played golf at New Mexico State
University in Las Cruces, New Mexico.
He turned professional in 1994. His early career was
largely unassuming, and even broken up by a spell in
Seattle selling car stereos and cell phones to make
ends meet.
This changed in 1999 when Beem won the Kemper Open
as an unheralded rookie. His career took a further
leap forward, when Beem won The INTERNATIONAL in
Castle Rock, Colorado, in 2002, then the next week
won the PGA Championship at Hazeltine National, one
of golf's four major tournaments. He fended off
Tiger Woods to win, who birdied his last four holes,
but finished one shot behind Beem. 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
he and his caddy, Steve Duplantis.
