Beem him up

With impending fatherhood, PGA champ may not defend

A couple of years ago, Tiger Woods became the first player to win back-to-back PGA Championships since Denny Shute accomplished the feat in 1936-37. Rich Beem will have a tough time duplicating that, primarily because there's a chance he won't be playing. After getting his first look at Oak Hill Country Club in Rochester, N.Y., Beem said at a press conference on Monday that he and his wife are expecting their first child the week of this year's PGA and that if the delivery interferes with the tournament, well, he's going to make sure he's there for the birth of his baby.

MAILBAG A quick check of the the mail. (By the way, those of you who are unable to read -- and there are a disturbingly great many of you -- and who thought I listed Mark Calcavecchia on a list of best players never to have won a major when, in fact, I was ripping a reader who incorrectly listed him, should be flogged, then shot, and then forced to read spam all day.) After Tom Watson's inspirational first round at the U.S. Open and all the attention given to his caddie, Bruce Edwards, and Edwards' unfortunate ALS, I got to thinking about Jeff Julian. We haven't heard very much about him since last year at the Greater Hartford Open. How is he doing? Does he still play competitively? Both men serve as an inspiration to those battling medical difficulties as well as those who are not. —Kevin Forbes, Newton, Mass. Jeff Julian appeared at the Golf Writers Association of America annual dinner the night before the Masters and was in good spirits. However, he had to use a handheld device to communicate, since he no longer is able to speak. And, no, he's not playing competitive golf anymore. I have always wondered about the little pad of paper that either the caddie or the tour player carries with him on the course. I see them opening these at certain times but not others. What are they called? Are they created by the course? What information is in them? Distances, green slopes, clubs they hit on par-3s, etc.? —Todd Miller, Portland, Ore. They're called yardage books. If you had ever played golf, you would have heard of them. Many courses -- even the ones you would play if you ever took up the game -- sell them. The book contains illustrations of the holes with yardages from pertinent landmarks. Some caddies devise their own books, but most buy them for a modest fee from a guy named George Lucas, who does all the tour courses and sells the info to players. Is eye dominance an issue in putting? If a person putts left-handed and is left-eye dominant, should that person switch to the right side because of a vision disadvantage (strong eye further from the cup)? —Larry Switzer, Winnipeg, Manitoba I wouldn't switch just because of eye dominance. Coordination is a bigger factor. If you're a total spaz and can't putt righty, then don't do it. Putt any way you can make it work. You might want to wear a pirate's patch over one eye, though. Chicks really dig that. I would love to see a Canada vs. U.S. tournament -- the top four Canadians against the top four Americans in a best-of-seven (like the Stanley Cup) series that switches back and forth to home-course advantage. Like the Ryder Cup but played at two different courses. A cross-border extravaganza (Royal Montreal? Bethpage Black? Glenn Abbey? Why not even a round at Augusta?). Mike Weir, Ian Leggatt, Glen Hnatiuk, Stephen Ames against Tiger Woods, Davis Love III, Phil Mickelson, David Toms. Wow! —D. Hyde, Winnipeg, Manitoba Get yourself a sponsor, about $250,000 a piece to pay the players, find an open date on the PGA Tour schedule ... and dream on. Good luck, especially, on getting Augusta National to let you play -- though you probably have a better chance of getting Hootie and Co.'s cooperation than of convincing Tiger Woods to show up. He usually needs about $2 million of incentive to even think about it. And, sorry, but after Weir, the Canadian talent level drops off a bit. Leggatt, Hnatiuk and Ames are not at the level of Love, Mickelson and Toms. But then again, it's always fun rooting for underdogs.

"I hope to be here," Beem told the gathering at Oak Hill. "I don't want to scare anybody, but our new addition is due then. Hopefully, he'll be really early or really late. Two weeks early or two weeks late would be fine."

Beem's wife, Sarah, is due on the Saturday (Aug. 16) of PGA weekend, and Beem said he'll do what Phil Mickelson did during the 1999 U.S. Open at Pinehurst. He'll carry a beeper and be ready to leave at a moment's notice, even in mid-tournament. If the baby is born before the tournament, perhaps as late as Tuesday that week, Beem said he'd consider trying to play. Wednesday would be too late, however.

"We'll try to induce labor early, and if not, I'll just keep playing until the pager goes off," Beem said. "Fortunately, I can play in as many PGAs as I'd like, although, hopefully, I won't be out here until I'm 85. But I'm not sure now many more kids I'll have, so I'll be at home for the birth of my first child. I've already made up my mind. I'd love to come back and defend, but we'll play it by ear. It'll be a fun tournament. I hope little Junior cooperates."

Beem said his wife came up with a bit of PGA Championship-related trivia. Beem's birthdate -- Aug. 24, 1970 -- was the day that Dave Stockton won the PGA Championship at Southern Hills. "So I was destined to win this thing," he joked.

Talking about his own career, which has featured three victories, including that one major last August at Hazeltine, Beem invoked the f word. "I've always been labeled a streaky player, which is fine by me, and I've also been labeled a one-hit wonder, which is not OK," he said. "A lot of people called my PGA win a fluke. I'll give you my honest opinion that, yes, my career kind of has been a fluke. What I've done would be like a guy who worked at a printing press for a few years, then five years later writes a Pulitzer Prize-winning book. I went from making 15 grand as a bad assistant pro to winning the ultimate in golf's major championships. I'm streaky, but when I'm good, I'm very good. When I'm not playing well, I'm just as bad as everybody else. My whole career has been that way. Is it frustrating? Immensely. It's a tough pill to swallow because I know what I'm capable of on a daily basis. Unfortunately, it doesn't always show."

Beem said he loved the traditional Oak Hill layout and doesn't think it'll favor any one type of player. He also noted that Oak Hill's fairways are narrower than Hazeltine's. "This golf course lets anybody win," he said of Oak Hill. "Fred Funk and Loren Roberts can compete here just like Tiger Woods."

Putting has been the problem with Beem's game this year. He's switched putters quite often. "I tend to not be very patient. If I'm not making putts after nine holes, I'm ready to toss [the putter] out," he said. He also has worked with putter-builder Scotty Cameron and others in the last few months. "I've been working on my short game and I think I'm really close to playing well again," he said. "It's tough right now, not holing the putts you think you should make, and struggling a bit. I do this every year. I struggle, finally have some good tournaments, then go back to struggling again. But I think my game has gotten better than it was last year. Right now, my problem is that the ball's just not going in the hole."

Pollen place

This has been a banner year for allergies, although, as near as I can tell, every year is a banner year. It's either too hot, too dry or too damp, too wet. In the Midwest this year, it has been the latter. It's July and I'm still getting allergy symptoms in Pittsburgh -- waking up in the morning and feeling as if I have a cold.

What does this have to do with golf? Something. Let's face it, if you feel like crap because of allergies, you're probably going to play like crap. (Disclaimer: OK, you were going to play like crap anyway, because you always play like crap. So what's your point?) At least one exception is Woods, who frequently is seen at tournaments with red eyes and a sniffly nose. "Tiger is allergic to everything on the golf course," said his dad, Earl.

A little bit of research has actually gone into the connection between golf and allergies, specifically eye allergies. Dr. Michael Alexander, who lives in Canada, was part of a small study that tested golfers during the peak of ragweed season. Two dozen golfers with ragweed allergies were given eyedrops twice a day for four days -- before playing a round and again 15 minutes after they teed off. The eyedrops were Alocril (that's the brand name; the medical name is Nedocromil). Alexander and several other doctors checked up on the players during the round (although, I kidded him, it couldn't have been too well-planned since he wasn't able to get in any golf himself that day). The results were good. Most players' symptoms improved considerably and stayed steady for eight to 12 hours after the treatment. In all, 92 percent rated the treatment moderately or completely effective, and 83 percent were willing to continue using the product.

One thing the study didn't address was any impact on the golfers' scores. If these prescription eyedrops knock three shots off your score, sign me up. Alexander, who has become an avid golfer and shoots in the 90s, believes any allergy involving the eyes has a great impact on how you feel, and therefore has an impact on how you play golf, where vision and depth perception is such an important factor.

"One of the reasons we chose golfers is that the hand-eye coordination is critical," Alexander said. "We looked at how allergic disease of the eye would influence people playing golf. Golf is such a mental game that if you can't concentrate because of allergic symptoms, you may not play as well and you certainly won't enjoy it as much."

Stuff I didn't know about allergies: