Rich Beem beat Tiger Woods at the PGA by doing what Woods usually does to win majors -- dominating the par-5s with power and accuracy

Courtesy of CBS

By Carl Lohren
One of Golf Magazine's Top 100 Teachers

Tiger Woods often wins by reducing par-5s to long par-4s and making a slew of birdies and eagles. On Sunday, Rich Beem beat Woods at his own power game on Hazeltine's quartet of monster 5s. While Woods was flaring drives into the lumberyard, leaving no option but to lay up, Beem reached two of the par-5s in two, making two birdies and an eagle. The 597-yard 11th hole was the key blow. Playing in the pairing ahead of Beem, Woods sliced his tee shot into the trees and made a par. Beem followed a 326-yard drive by ripping a 271-yard strong seven-wood to six feet (above) and holing the eagle putt to reach 10 under par, stretching his lead to three shots over Woods, who immediately made consecutive bogeys.

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MIGHTY MITE The 5'8", 153-pound Beem may be, pound-for-pound, the longest hitter in golf, ranking 11th on the Tour in driving distance at 291.4 yards. Two assets allow Beem to generate enormous power. First, he has a muscular upper body that's thick from front to back. Second, he uses this strength perfectly, with a balanced and seemingly effortless coiling action that hinges on the rotation of his shoulders.

QUICK BUT NOT FAST Beem led the PGA with only 107 putts, thanks to a stress-reducing routine. Beem doesn't inspect a putt from 55 angles -- he is content to trust his first instincts. His practice strokes are quick, smooth, back-and-forth swipes to gauge feel, and while standing over the ball, he loosens and tightens his fingers several times to prevent them from getting tight. Finally, he begins the stroke with a slight but steady forward press. Best of all, the whole routine takes less than 15 seconds.

OVERCLUBBED I'm tired of the roasting that club pros get at the PGA when most of them miss the cut. (Last week only two of 25 played on the weekend.) Give a major league pitcher only one outing a year, and make it in the World Series, and he'd probably struggle, too. But give my brethren more than one token outing and things would be different. Thirty years ago, before the Tour became all-exempt, tournaments set aside up to 50 spots a week for open qualifying, and dozens of club pros regularly played the Tour, often successfully. My best finish in a Tour event was a 43rd, but club pro pals like Wes Ellis and Tom Nieporte won tournaments.

Carl Lohren, 64, teaches at Ballen Isle Country Club in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., and is one of Golf Magazine's Top 100 teachers.

Issue date: August 26, 2002