Beem Basks in Celebrity Status

A year ago, professional golf paid little attention to Rich Beem. Now, it seemingly can’t get enough of him.

Since fending off a charge by Tiger Woods and winning the PGA Championship in August, Beem has become golf’s personality du jour.

His journey from car stereo salesman to major championship winner has fascinated the media. His carefree attitude and tales of beer drinking until dawn has won over blue-collar fans.

This side of Woods, he’s now among golf’s most sought-after celebrities. Everyone wants Beem in their tournament--including Woods, who chose Beem among his four sponsor exemptions for the Target World Challenge, Dec. 5-8, at Sherwood Country Club in Thousand Oaks.

It’s one of six events that has filled Beem’s off-season schedule, starting with the Wendy’s Three-Tour Challenge, Nov. 5, in Las Vegas.

“December 9 is the day I don’t have to do anything for anybody,” Beem said. “That’s when I get a little vacation.”

Not that Beem is complaining. Each event means a guaranteed paycheck--$130,000 goes to the golfer who finishes last in the Target event.

“It’s an O.K. trade-off,” Beem said. “It could be a lot worse ... I mean, I remember watching these things on TV and being jealous. Now I’m playing in them.”

That’s not all that has changed for Beem, who also won the Sprint International this season. He now routinely plays before large galleries in the premier pairings at tournaments, instead of in the obscurity of early-morning or late-afternoon tee times.

And because his picture is in newspapers, magazines and on television, he has chosen to tone down his life in the fast lane, where all-night benders were the norm.

“I’m a little more recognizable now so I gotta watch myself,” he said. “I can’t go light my hair on fire anymore.”

His wife, Sara, has helped. She gives him a companion on the road so he won’t be tempted to call up his buddies.

“She’s a good match for me,” Beem said. “She’s smart and beautiful and I’m dumb and ugly.”

No matter how famous Beem becomes, he said his life hasn’t changed all that much. He’s still living out of suitcases and playing golf--just on a larger scale.

“It’s like the Rolling Stones,” Beem said. “If they’re playing at small clubs in front of 50 people or in front of 75,000, it’s still the same.”

One concern Beem has is living up to his success. He fears being viewed as a failure if he doesn’t have another good year, but can’t understand why reaching the pinnacle once isn’t enough to satisfy the fans or the media.

“Everyone wants to know if I’m going to be the next Nick Price or the next Wayne Grady,” he said.

Grady won the 1990 PGA Championship, but hasn’t won since.

“I don’t know what to think about that right now,” he said. “I’m just going to be the next Rich Beem, how’s that?”