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CHILDREN'S MIRACLE NETWORK CLASSICNovember 10, 2009Rich BeemLAKE BUENA VISTA, FLORIDA MARK STEVENS: We're joined by Rich Beem this afternoon. Rich, thanks for joining us. You come in 9th appearance in the Children's Miracle Network Classic. You tied for third here in 2005, and you come into this week 124 on the Money List. Won Top 10 at the Mayakoba Golf Classic and you also tied for 12th over here at Tampa at the Transitions Championship. So a few opening comments about this week. RICH BEEM: Either I play good or I go to Q-School. That's about the only comments that I have to really make. You know, I think we all know why I'm sitting here and being interviewed. It's not because of any other reason. So you know, I must say that this predicament sucks. I'm not having any fun with it. But that's the way it goes. I'm going to go out there and play hard this week and see if we can't wrap this mess up. How's that for a comment? (Laughs). MARK STEVENS: Does it help that you have had success here before in this event? RICH BEEM: Oh, yeah. I mean I really like these two golf courses. In fact, I like the format where you play with amateurs the first two days. I think that keeps everything a little more light-hearted. I've always enjoyed this week, but yeah, I mean I think that -- you know, I like these golf courses, and I'm certainly excited about getting out there on Thursday and getting after it. But yeah, I enjoy playing here. It's always a lot of fun, and I wish it was under different circumstances, but so be it. MARK STEVENS: Okay. We'll go to questions. Just reminder to wait for the microphone, please. Q. You didn't go to Q-School last year; right? RICH BEEM: No, I didn't. Q. You played, you wrote letters and went that route. How did that plan work out for you? Clearly you got some at-bats? RICH BEEM: Yeah. Fantastic. It worked actually amazing. I must say I was really fortunate to get into a lot of events, a lot of events I really enjoy playing, especially early in the year and then some of the other events like Quail Hollow and things like that, but still, it's no fun. I don't want to do that again, and you know, if I have to, for whatever bizarre reason I don't make it this week, then I'll go back to Q-School so I don't have to write letters. I can get in hopefully with my Q-School number. But you know, it's something that I certainly don't want to go through again, but if I have to, I will. I'll write letters again and we'll go from there. Q. Are those sponsor exemptions almost like a one-off thing where you feel like, man, the second time around they may not hook you up or you're a beloved guy who will play every hole they throw at you and kiss babies and shake hands, but you wonder when they start replacing you. RICH BEEM: Well, that's pretty much my mindset on it. Q. (No microphone). RICH BEEM: Exactly right. How far can it go? You got so many young players that are up-and-coming, you know, the Danny Lees, the Ricky Fowlers, the guys like that, why wouldn't they want to give those kids a chance because they are up-and-comers and who's going to challenge Tiger next, and blah, blah, blah, so looking at a 39-year-old I would say short, fat, balding guy, you know. I'm not too sure that -- you kind of wonder how many chances they're going to give you, but obviously if it has to happen, I'll write letters, but like I said, I'm not counting on that right now. I think I'm playing pretty good and I'm going to go out there and prove it. Q. Just talk about, you know, at least you're on the inside of the bubble. That's gotta be better than being like 135th. RICH BEEM: That's a lot better. Q. Theoretically you could maybe keep your position, I mean you wouldn't bet on that. RICH BEEM: Theoretically, yeah. I'd rather go out there and have a chance to win it than anything else, and that's kind of what we're here to do. But yeah, at least I'm on the right side of the number as of right now, but anything can happen. It's kind of been an odd year with the end of the year. There hasn't been a lot of movement, to be brutally honest. There's probably been two or three guys each week, but that's been about it. So it's been a very interesting dynamic with having a couple of weeks off and Jackson being canceled and things like that. So there hasn't been as much movement as there was a few years ago. But you know, I'm not going to take my chances. Q. Were you scheduled to play Jackson? RICH BEEM: Yeah. I was. Q. Any thoughts on that, I mean especially with -- obviously it wasn't playable, but there was an open week the next week. Any thought that maybe they could have tried the next week or did that not really come up? RICH BEEM: No. I mean how could any -- how are you going to get volunteers to come out the week after? How are you going to be able to stage a TOUR event with TV and marshalls and volunteers and everything like that? I just don't -- I don't know how it could happen. I don't see how it could. I think the PGA TOUR made the right choice. I don't think there's anything that anybody could do. So I mean you can question them saying, you know, you could have and you could have, but realistically you really couldn't, unless you want to have a PGA TOUR event with official money with nobody watching it and no TV and no leader boards, and you know -- that would be kind of fun actually, but I don't think that's going to sell. Q. We were talking about the 126 to 150 with Streelman, and is there -- it's going to come out the wrong way. I'll just ask because this is the easiest. Is there enough turnover out here? You know, you've been playing off your exemption for five years and then this year playing because, you know, you effectively wrote a bunch of letters and you're a good guy and they love you in the pro ams and all that stuff. Golf's kind of the ultimate meritocracy. We understand that. RICH BEEM: A what? Q. A meritocracy, you rise or fall based on what you do. RICH BEEM: I have one of those work books on my phone. I would have actually looked that up. Q. Merit. Based on merit. RICH BEEM: Okay. There we go. Q. But it seems like there's a certain wave of guys that are around out here forever and there's not as much turnover and infusion of younger guys, and guys out of Q-School and guys out of Nationwide seemingly are getting fewer at-bats this time around because there are more limited-field events and fewer events, four Fall Series events versus seven. RICH BEEM: And the FedExCup. Q. And can't get in the FedExCup or whatever it may be. It seems like once you're in, you're in and it's hard to get kicked out. RICH BEEM: I think it's been that way for a long time. I think it's not just the last couple years. I think it's been that way for as far as I can tell -- this is my 11th season, but I mean it's kind of like that. It's been like that for a very, very long time. So I don't think anything has really changed. You know, should it change more, I don't know. I mean I'm not one to really answer that question. I mean I really don't know how I feel about that, to be honest with you. I think that if you are competitive, if you won out here, you know, there's a lot of guys out here who have made a lot of money over the years that have never won and they're still out here every single year, and then you've got guys out here that have won. David Duval, how many times has he won? Now he's struggling to keep his job. You know, I mean what's fair and what's not fair? I mean how do you look at it? Are you looking for big names? Are you looking for ticket sales? What are you looking for? I know what sponsors are looking for. They're looking for ticket sales; they want big names, guys that have won. They want a lot of that, or a new hot young name, obviously of late Ricky Fowler is the name, Jamie Lovemark. But what do you -- what's the balance? So you know, I still think this TOUR is driven, you know, 80% by about five players, if not more. So I mean, you know, I don't know. I don't know how I really feel about that, but I think it's been -- it's easier to stay on the Tour than it is to get out here. I believe that. Actually my dad said that a long time ago. He said once you've been out there for a couple years, it's easier to stay out there than it is to actually get out there, which I tend to agree with that statement. I've been out here for 11 years, like I said, and even when I had the five-year exemption, I didn't finish in the top 125 but probably three of those years. Should I have been kicked off, I mean should the five-year exemption, I mean hell, it used to be 10 years. So you know, I think that the TOUR is looking more at that. But you know, it's -- you can look at it a bunch of different ways, yeah. Q. You said this is 11. Do you feel any different now trying to do what you're doing this week than you did 12 years ago trying to get there the first time? Is the feeling compatible, comparable? RICH BEEM: Yes and no. I mean I think that it was probably a lot more nerve-wracking back then, and I think it's kind of half the time with your question. If I don't play well this week, you know, I don't have to go back to Q-School, I'll still be in the top 126, 150. I'll still get 25 starts one way or the other and I can still go Monday qualifying. I can still do a lot of things, so I don't think the pressure is as quite square on your shoulders as it was when you're trying to get out here. But once you've been out here and you know that you have the opportunity to be fully exempt for another year, that's a pretty big deal. I'm already thinking about I want to play in Hawaii. I want to play Bob Hope. I want to play Riviera, which is my favorite course on Tour. I want to play those events. I don't want to hope that I get a chance to play those events. So that's a big deal. So I think it's the same type of pressure, but just in a different dynamic. Q. What was the process of the letter writing? Was every one of them personal? Really heart felt or did you just pretty much, hey, I'd like to come play? RICH BEEM: Yeah. I did that last year, yeah. You know, fortunately I know a lot of the -- I know a lot of the tournament directors, and so throughout the years I just had the chance to meet them and this and that. And some of them were comical, you know, with guys like, for Phoenix, I wrote that, hey, I understand you guys are having a tournament out there in the desert and I know you're having a hard time attracting a lot of fans, and you know, I'm kind of a big deal on the PGA TOUR and this and that, and I really just hammed it up pretty good, and of course, they didn't give me a sponsored exemption, but -- that one kind of backfired. I said, you know, I promise I'll bring out a lot of people because I'm kind of a big deal, but anyways, no, if nothing else, I made a phone call to every single tournament director after I wrote the letter and/or followed it up with an e-mail. Most of the time it was a phone call, though. I don't think I ever really -- in fact, I know I never did not call somebody and just ask them, hey, listen, did you get my letter, how's my status, you know, I will do anything for you. I mean I'll wash your car, I'll baby-sit your kids. You know, you name it, I'll do it. And a lot of them were like, absolutely. We'd love to have you. Some of them were like, well, I don't know what we can do. And no, I didn't take anything personally. How can you? You're begging for a spot. So it was, you know, it did not bother me one bit writing letters and making phone calls and this and that, because sometimes that's what you gotta do. Q. I don't want to compare it to going to Q-School, but it was work. I mean you actually put in a lot of time. RICH BEEM: Oh, yeah. Q. That was a challenge in itself. RICH BEEM: It was a challenge in itself. I think the hardest part about it was just not knowing whether or not you're going to get to play the next week or the next week or the next week. You couldn't really dictate your schedule, and I think that's the biggest thing about being fully exempt is you can dictate your schedule. So that's the plan is to go out there and play well and lock that up so we don't have to write the letters and wonder about where we're going to be. Q. Any concerns, you mentioned you finished 126 to 150 and still get 25 starts, and that has been the case, but any concern that still isn't the case? You have shrinkage. You got tournaments like Pebble shrinking the field from 180 to 156, the FedExCup. I don't know that that was the case. I don't think that was the case this year necessarily. I'm not sure that that'll be the case next year. Are you concerned about the loss of playing opportunities that we're seeing in this shrinking economy? RICH BEEM: You know, about three or four years ago when I was in the pack, I would have answered this question differently. I would have said yes, I'm very concerned because of the playing opportunities, taking away from the membership, and blah, blah, blah. No, I'm not. Play better. That's the bottom line. You know, you're going to be competitive, you want to keep your job, do a better job of it; play better. You know, I used to be -- it used to be whereas I didn't think that was the case. I thought we had to give every opportunity and this and that. I still agree with that to a point. You know, I'm still not convinced that some of the limited-field events out there are the best thing. I think that, you know, especially in the middle of the season when you have a golf course that can accommodate, and you have dates that can accommodate and things like that, I'd like to see the limited fields expanded from 120 to 132, and I don't think 12 extra players is going to diminish your field or anything like that. But from a standpoint that, you know, am I worried about the guys from 126 to 150 not getting in more events, absolutely not. I mean we all have the same exact opportunity every January when we tee it up, and I'm not sitting up here making excuses why I'm in this position. I'm in this position because I didn't play better. Q. As a good example, last year with your money card right now you would have been 200 grand short of making top 125. That's a big dropoff. Are you concerned about the money? RICH BEEM: I think it's -- we've had three less events and then the opposites, yeah. I think it's -- yeah, because we had -- because Valero got changed. We dropped Atlanta. Valero got changed, and then we also had -- so we lost a week there. Q. (No microphone). RICH BEEM: That's three right there. So you know, I think that's part of it. I think there's a lot more movement last fall. Two falls ago I think there was a lot more movement as well. You know, I really don't know. I don't know why the Money List is down as much as it is. Q. (No microphone). RICH BEEM: And I think that's part of it, too. I think that the top guys, you know, 10 million, 6 million and a couple of guys at 5. You know, I think the Money List this year is a lot more top heavy than it was the last couple years, so I think that's probably the reason why as well, but you know, there you go. Leave it to Tiger to mess everything up. Q. Do you have your full seven sponsor invites? How many sponsor invites did you get? RICH BEEM: Oh, I don't know. Probably at least 10. Q. (No microphone). RICH BEEM: I got a few on my own. I played my way into a few events, yeah. I got one at Sony. I got one at Bob Hope. I got one at Buick, LA. Didn't play Bay Hill this year. Transitions. I mean a lot of the early stuff I got exemptions into. I think Houston. I got quite a few. And as far as the seven goes, that's only for people that aren't members. I'm a member, so I can get up to 27. So I didn't max that out. I got into a few on my own. Q. (Indiscernible). RICH BEEM: I don't know what event this is. MARK STEVENS: 26. RICH BEEM: This is the last one as far as I know. Q. You worked half the year. MARK STEVENS: Last question. Q. Rich, everyone knows that this is a tournament where guys are struggling for their livelihood and it's pretty much the predominant thing on their minds, but do you guys ever have time to stop and think about where all this effort is going to as far as the Children's Miracle Network or the charities that are involved? How often do you guys in working on your game, working on your shots, developing your career do you come into contact with the ultimate result of the tournament? Does it cause you to reflect on anything? RICH BEEM: That's actually a very interesting question. I read an article that Nick Price was giving an interview and we were talking about giving back and this and that to the PGA TOUR, and I think what he said in the article and I'm going to mess this up, so don't necessarily quote me on this, but he said, don't be fooled. We're out here looking out for ourselves. We're not thinking about the charities of this and that. And I would say that unfortunately, that's probably a fairly accurate statement, but I must say there's probably about two or three events every year where we -- something happens at that event, like this year for me it was St. Jude's Classic, where I got to spend some time at the hospital on Tuesday and then on Wednesday with a young man and his sister, they both have cancer, and they're both less than 14 years old, and a boy and a girl, same family and they both have cancer. The boy lost his leg, and she is doing better, but they both have cancer, and ever since then I've followed them. There's a website called Caring Bridge, and it's set up for cancer patients, and it's Austin and Haley Carter, and I follow them all the time on Caring Bridge. I can't imagine what that family goes through. I've read about their plight, you know, of how they're dealing with the chemotherapy, the cancer, having to go to St. Jude's all the time, you know, what they have to look out for, everything. So I think a couple times a year we are put in a situation where we see where the money goes, and I think it's very impactful on us. I mean I don't think it happens every week for us. In fact, I know it doesn't. That would be almost an impossible thing. But I think we all know in the back of our minds that we're raising a lot of money each week for worthwhile charities. And so you know, it's always nice. It's always nice to see exactly how people get impacted. But I think, like I said, I think it happens probably a couple times a year. Q. Does it give you a little jolt or something or a surprise or take you out of your comfort zone? RICH BEEM: No. No. I think it just kind of makes you realize, you know, this isn't -- we're out here for entertainment. We're out here raising money. We're helping raise money for people and families and things like that. I couldn't imagine -- I've got a 4- and 6-year-old. I can't imagine having them both have cancer. I mean how do you deal with that? How do you wake up as a parent, you know, every day you've got two kids that are under the age of 14 and they both have cancer? Makes hitting that little white golf ball seem a little less significant. Obviously I've got a family to feed and I've got a job to do, but it's a pretty amazing thing that they're able to wake up every day and tackle the things that they do. So... Q. Will your family be here with you this week? RICH BEEM: They are. They're on their way today. They'll be here today. Q. Teacup ride tonight. RICH BEEM: No, sir. I'm sleeping tonight, brother. I didn't get in till 5 a.m. We had some plane problems. But we're all good. Family's coming in, and we'll do the parent-child tomorrow. Do you want to hear a funny one about the parent-child last year? This is funny. I love this story. Last year my kids are 5 and 3. I've got a 5-year-old son and 3-year-old daughter, and my son's completely fired up about playing in the parent-child, he's like, all right, let's go. He doesn't really understand golf that much. But I'm going to coach him out there. So we get out there and we register, this is Michael. He's my son, he's 5 years old. We're going to play. They look at my daughter, they're like, who's this? This is Bailey, but she really doesn't play golf. Well, we'll sign her up anyways. I'm like, all right, that's fine. Sign her up. So we go out and play and Michael and I shoot one over par. We play really good. And Bailey, she hit a couple of shots and then found the candy and all the cookies and stuff like that on the holes and decided that sitting in the cart riding with mom was a little better idea than trying to hit a golf ball with dad. So we get done playing and turn in the scorecard for Michael, shot 1-over. Good job. They said, what about Bailey? I said, awe, we didn't really finish any holes. Oh, fun day for Bailey. I'm like, exactly. Put "fun day" down on the scorecard. So we get done and we didn't get a chance to go to the dinner awards banquet that night, and I come out the next day and I got these two white boxes sitting in front of my locker. And I'm like, that's pretty cool, you know. I open one of them up, and it's second place awarded to Michael Beem, five-year-old boys. I'm like, wow, that's pretty cool. He's going to be fired up about this. And I open up the bigger box, first place, Bailey Beem, girls three and under. I'm like, what? She didn't even play. She was the only one that entered, so they gave her first place by default. I'm sitting there going how many I going to take this name tag and switch them out because Bailey's trophy was bigger than Michael's. And she let him know that hers was bigger. So she ended up winning by default, so it was pretty funny. But we're playing tomorrow. It's going to be a good time. Q. Pressure's on. RICH BEEM: Too funny, too funny. But no, it's a fun week. It's a good time, and you know, hopefully we'll see you guys late on Sunday. MARK STEVENS: Rich, thank you very much. Good luck this week. End of FastScripts |
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