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 Chip's back on the block He still hasn't made a cut, but Beck's in the U.S. Open
Posted: Wednesday June 17, 1998 07:58 PM
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- It won't go down in the books as making the cut -- certainly not winning a tournament. But the fact Chip Beck will tee it up Thursday in the U.S. Open feels about the same. "This is the best thing that's happened to me in two years," Beck said Wednesday after his final practice round at The Olympic Club. It's easy to see why. Beck, the last PGA Tour player to shoot 59 hasn't been able to shoot his way out of paper sack the last two years. He hasn't made the cut in 36 straight tournaments and withdrew on two other occasions. The last time Beck made it to the weekend was the Honda Classic in March 1997, when he tied for 45th. He didn't break 70 the rest of the year until the final round in Las Vegas, the final full-field event of the year. Beck, known as the most optimistic player on tour, kept a sunny disposition. Inside, he was beginning to see the glass as half-empty. "I had never struggled with golf before. It always came so easy," said Beck, whose exemption on the PGA Tour is based on his top-25 ranking in career money. "This was a different challenge." The turnaround started during the Florida swing when Beck met with Jack Nicklaus at Doral. Nicklaus told Beck to come see him the next weekend if Beck failed to make the cut in the Honda. Beck was at Nicklaus' door on Saturday. "He has a tremendous eye for mechanics," Beck said. "He told me what he remembered about my swing from three years ago, when I was playing well. You don't realize how gifted he is until you start talking to him." Beck's problems were off the tee. Nicklaus thinks Beck's problems were between the ears. "He's one of the most positive energetic players that I have known on the tour, and what has happened to him has been a shame," said Nicklaus, who played a practice round with Beck on Tuesday. "I think it's mostly in his head. I don't think there's all that much wrong with his golf game." Beck could see the progress even as he was missing cuts at Greenboro, Houston, Kemper and Buick. He was hitting about four fairways per round in March and getting up to 12 fairways a week ago. "Driving sets up the rest of your game," Beck said. It worked nicely for him in sectional qualifying at Summit, New Jersey, where he earned a spot in the Open with rounds of 72 and 70. The first person he called was Nicklaus. "He was like a little kid," Nicklaus said. "He picked up the telephone and said, `I qualified!' I think it's a matter of time until he gets his confidence back to play well again. I don't think that's very far away." Beck has come close to winning the U.S. Open twice, finishing two strokes behind Raymond Floyd at Shinnecock Hills in 1986 and one behind Curtis Strange at Oak Hill three years later. This is Beck's first major since the 1995 PGA Championship, and it would seem he's a long shot to even make the cut. By Wednesday afternoon, Beck was hopeful to have an opportunity come Sunday. "It's kind of like shooting a 59," he said. "You don't know it's going to happen until you get there." Already, it's been quite a journey.
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Chip Beck has been on quite a journey the last two years 