SPRINGFIELD, N.J. – Turning back the calendar several years, if not all the way back to 2002, full-time television commentator and very, very part-time golfer Rich Beem shot a 1-under-par 69 in Thursday's first round of the PGA Championship.
That's better than Dustin Johnson, Rory McIlroy and Phil Mickelson did. Nobody was more surprised than Beem himself.
"I haven't practiced, I haven't played," Beem said. "Let's be real honest with you: I got a swing tip from a guy at Skibo Castle [in Scotland] a few weeks ago, a guy named David, the head pro."
Beem followed up that round with a 72 on Friday, putting him at 1-over par.
David told him his swing was too compact, and to widen it out. It also helped that Beem is swinging pain free these last 10 days for the first time since he can remember, after receiving treatment for shoulder tendinitis from his wife's uncle, whom Beem called the United States' best orthopedic surgeon.
The former cellphone salesman who upset mighty Tiger Woods in the 2002 PGA Championship at Hazeltine National Golf Club, Beem, now 45, hasn't played competitively these last two years other than his annual return to the PGA as a former champion. The few years before that, he played a bit on the Web.com and European tours. He hasn't made the cut in a PGA Tour event in this country since 2012.
He lives in Texas and was hired by the United Kingdom's Sky Sports last winter as a full-time golf analyst.
"I haven't been playing much, maybe that's why I played so good," Beem said. "I forgot all the bad stuff I was doing. … To be honest with you, I can't even remember the last time I shot under par. I couldn't even tell you. It feels awesome. It feels great because this is a Big Boy course. You have to wear your Big Boy pants to play. If nothing else I can say I shot 69 at Baltusrol on Thursday. If you ask me tomorrow, I can say I shot 69 yesterday."
Beem will return on Sky Sports duty to Hazeltine National for September's Ryder Cup.
Asked how often he returns to the course that remains the site of his greatest career victory, Beem said, "Maybe once a year to see some friends and play some beer golf. Not too much. I'll get up there for the Ryder Cup and that's about it."
