Beck Is Just a Chip Off of Floyds’ Block

If you liked Ray Floyd’s smile after he won the U.S. Open Sunday at Shinnecock Hills, thank Chip Beck’s father. He is Floyd’s dentist.

If you liked Chip Beck’s stroke Sunday, when he shot a 65 to equal the course record and finish in a tie for second, thank Ray Floyd’s father. He is the club pro who resurrected Beck’s game two years ago.

For these two pros from North Carolina, there has never been a more memorable Father’s Day. Floyd was ecstatic about winning his fourth major tournament, his first U.S. Open, while Beck was just glad to be there.

Beck, 29, might not even have been in the field, much less in contention, if it had not been for Ray Floyd’s dad, E.B. Floyd, the pro and co-owner at Cypress Lakes Golf Club, a public course in Beck’s hometown of Fayetteville, N.C.

In 1984, Beck’s sixth year on the PGA tour, he discovered not only that he had lost confidence in his game but that his sponsors had lost confidence in his game. Even though he had his best year in 1983, finishing 33rd on the tour in earnings, he did not improve in 1984 and began to doubt himself.

One person who did not lose confidence in Beck was E.B. Floyd, who invited the golfer to Cypress Lakes to try to rediscover his game.

“Without his faith and encouragement, I don’t think I’d be here today,” Beck said.

“It was a time when some people I knew lost faith in me. Things were not as smooth in my life as I prefer them to be. I needed to start over.

“Raymond Floyd’s dad gave me a chance to play when I didn’t have a chance to play anywhere else. He gave me a place where I could have some privacy, a place where I could hit as many balls as I wanted. He watched me for hours in 1984. He had confidence in me.”

During those hours of watching Beck, E.B. Floyd also restructured the player’s swing. While learning to play Floyd’s way, Beck was 97th in earnings last year. But now he is playing better than ever. He still has not won a tournament in eight years on the tour, but he has finished in the top 10 five times in his last nine tournaments.

“Mr. Floyd tells me I have a nice swing, maybe even better than his son’s,” Beck said. “You can’t get a better compliment than that.”

His association with the Floyds goes back almost 20 years to when Beck was 10. After his mother began playing, she insisted that he accompany her to a clinic by the club pro at Highland Golf Club, the course in Fayetteville where Ray Floyd learned to play.

Beck was not enthusiastic at first, but he became more interested as he followed Floyd’s progress on the pro tour.

“The first time I ever met Ray was when I was 10,” Beck said. “He gave me 30 brand new Wilson Staff golf balls.”

Floyd, 43, has remained a model for Beck.

“He has great confidence in himself,” Beck said. “He doesn’t play for 10th place. He plays to win. I respect that.”

Although Beck finished Saturday’s third round six shots behind the leader, Greg Norman, he also was playing to win Sunday.

“I was in the same position as Jack Nicklaus,” Beck said. “He said it would take a 65 to win. That struck a chord in me.”

Beck said he knew it was possible because a friend of his, Lennie Clements, shot 65 Saturday to set the course record.

When he saw Clements in church Sunday morning, Beck said he told him: “People said there are no birdies out there, but you showed them it can be done.”

So did Beck. But he wasn’t the only one. Two other players, Mark Calcavecchia and Lanny Wadkins, also shot 65, five-under par, in the final round. Wadkins tied with Beck for second place, two shots behind Floyd.

Beck had an opportunity to shoot even better, but he missed a 4 1/2-foot birdie putt on the final hole.

“It was in the middle of the hole with eight inches to go, but it broke three or four inches from there,” Beck said. “It fooled me, but it was as difficult a putt as you could have on 18.”

If Beck had made the putt, he would have been tied for the lead with Floyd at that point. But Beck didn’t seem disappointed as he talked about it later.

“It was a wonderful feeling to be on 18 with the people cheering for me and having a chance to win the U.S. Open,” he said.

Moments later, as Beck was watching on television, Floyd made a birdie on 16 for a two-shot lead. Unless Floyd fell apart on the last two holes, Beck wasn’t going to win this U.S. Open.

“Oh, good,” Beck said as Floyd’s putt disappeared into the hole. “Good for Raymond. If I can’t win it, I want him to.”