PGA CHAMPION RICH BEEM

The golf great stops by to recap an exciting weekend of action at the Travelers' Champiosnhip

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
Enough to join us. The twothousand and two PGA champion himself now with
Sky Sports, was in Cromwell allweek and you told us during the week
Rich that you felt like Tom Kimcould do this, had a great caddy.
Scheffler just was one one stroke basicallybetter than him on an extra hole.
Your thoughts of the Travelers Championship,my friend, Yeah, what a

(00:21):
finish, wasn't it. Its greatsaying he was always by the bye and
that was a lot of fun catchingup. But yeah, I mean,
just coming down the stretch she hadI don't know, at one point,
I think there's either four or fiveguys that were tied for the lead.
You know, some guys were obviouslya lot deeper into their rounds, and
so, you know, you guyshad chances to Burt mcberdy's you know,

(00:41):
thirteen through basically sixteen, And yeah, I mean it was about as much
excitement as you could possibly want froma golf tournament. I thought that Tom
hit that shot on seventy second hold, which was just unbelievable. And then,
you know, before all the mayhembroke loose for about thirty minutes or
so, and then and then Scottygoes out in the very first hole and

(01:03):
sticks in the clothes, puts alot of heat on Tom, and you
know, Tom just doesn't respond.It was a very bizarre shot to see
come from Tom in that first playoffball. You told us and we didn't
listen. You said, boys,I think the story should start with is
what happened at the DP tour Andthere was a big protest that shut everything
down for a couple of hours.And we're like, yeah, Riache,
be man, nobody cares about noDP World Tour. What do you know?

(01:26):
You were on it, man,And then this happens. And then,
like you know that, I wasthinking about Scheffler and Tom Kim's putt
and just when that kind of mayhemhappens to take a deep breath and still
go out there and do your job. And obviously you see how it goes
down. Scheffler leaves it just short, but Tom Kim drilling that one to
send it to a playoff. Ithought that that was as much pressure as

(01:49):
you could possibly put on somebody.Absolutely, because he had the entire crowd
behind him after almost holding his secondshot, and and you know he was
ready to go. I think andobviously so was Scotty. Scotty wanted to
get that thing over with. Scottyhad been I mean, he'd been through
two delays that week, you know, the delay on the delay on Friday,

(02:09):
and obviously the delay on Saturday.And I can just tell you,
you know, you can just stillhave to up. Players are exhausted.
They're just like, Okay, Iwant this thing over with, done with.
And Scotty certainly wants to win.But you could kind of tell that
listen, just another reason to youknow, to elongate this thing. And
and but I mean, the crowdswere just unbelievable as always, and I

(02:31):
mentioned it to the to the viewersback at skuy It's just like you can't
believe, like how cool that Amphitheateris behind PPC River Highlands on the eighteen
goal. I mean, it's justlike from one hundred and twenty yards in,
it's just nothing but wall to wallpeople. It's crazy, it's exciting,
it's it's one of the best scenesthat we have all year of the
PGA tour talking to rich Bean aboutthe Travelers Championship. All right, so

(02:53):
you know, fifteen through eighteen,knowing what you just said, did that
put pressure on the guys that wereall tied for the lead? Are they
like, listen, I better berdiebefore I get to those final four holes.
Yeah, I mean they're just tryingto get out there. And then
you know, once you get castfifteen, you don't have a ton of
I mean, eighteen's you know,not not overly difficult, but you've got

(03:15):
you know, sixteen and seventeen.Sixteen and funny enough, on Sunday was
playing the hardest hole like AF fours. Yeah, but I think it ended
up being the second hardest, butit was, it was right up there.
Then, you know, seventeen theold reason seventeen wasn't playing that difficult
to straight down win. But youknow, you don't want to stand up
on that tea box, you know, knowing that's knowing full well that you've
got to make berdie on it.You know, you don't want to stand

(03:37):
on that old two backs. Yougot to go Bertie, Birdie. But
it's you know, it's kind ofa daunting task. So guys are out
there trying to make as many birdsthey can before coming to the final three,
knowing that you know, that's probablytheir best their best shot at it,
So it was interesting to see kindof how it played out. You
know, ok Sha Bacchia has tobe mentioned too, because he was a
stud and then all of a suddenjust kind of fell flat, right,

(03:59):
you know, when thirty thirteen,you're kind of like going, huh.
You know, that's just that's abig opportunity. They're gone by the wayside
and he just left his second shotin a in a really bad spot and
couldn't get up and down. Let'stalk fifty nine. How in the world
does Cam Young shoot a seventy onThursday and then a fifty nine one of
thirteen people to ever do it inthe PGA Tour. How does that happen?

(04:24):
Oh? I just think that's justthe game of golf. I mean,
you know Rod could probably say thistoo. I mean, how does
the guy go out there and youknow, not get through two innings one
day and then go out you know, his next start and get through you
know, can pitch a complete gameor a shutout or something. I mean,
it's just it's just the way itgoes. You never know when you're
gonna show up with your best andand Cam is a hell of a talent,
but if you look at a scoringaverage, something that's kind of interestings

(04:46):
no way to meaning what Cam did. But his fifty nine was the was
obviously the best of the day.But when anybody has ever shot fifty nine,
there's a matrix called strokes aimed againstthe field, and his was the
lowest of all the fifty nine thatwere shot because the scoring average is right
around sixty six. So he onlyhad like strokes game like seven strokes.

(05:12):
Usually it's more like nine to twelve. And so it was just being a
river Highlands is playing just so soeasy on Saturday, lack of winds,
soft conditions because of all the rains. But I mean that's golf. It's
just a golf course where once youget it going, there's a lot of
birdy opportunities. The more birdies youmake, the you know, they're more

(05:33):
aggressive you seem to become. Andthen he just took care of business when
he needed to. It was impressive, Riach. I know there's a lot
of low scores posted here, butis it an easy course, like Rory
said, yes, it is,and it just because a lot of it
has to do with length, becausethese guys are hitting a lot of wedges
and that's you know, you giveguys five, six, seven wages per

(05:57):
round and then you've got the driverabill fifteen and you know both part fives
are reachable for all these players.Yeah, it's a field day, but
you know, and thinking that,I think that's also made what makes the
golf turnament exciting because you've also comeup two weeks where pars at a premium
at Mierfield Village and then at theUS Open. So I think the players

(06:17):
are actually excited about getting up thereand knowing full well that they can go
out there and shoot slow numbers.And I think the fans like it.
I think the fans like the factthat you got to go out there,
you have to make birdies. Ithink that's where you know, sometimes that
seems easy, but it's not.It is, you know, because you
know, if you're not making birdies, you're you're losing ground. And the
last thing you want to do istry and play makeup on again six holes

(06:40):
sixteen and seventeen, and then youknow eighteen is not that that hard,
but still it's got to be done. So yeah, I think that I
think that I like it. Ifeel like a lot of people love the
course too, just because of that. They like playing here, and then
they go out in the next weekand then through the summer and they play
even better than what they did,just because they kind of get right at
Travelers Championship. I felt like fnow was getting right justin Thomas Patrick Cantley,

(07:03):
heck, I saw Ricky Fowler abunch making good scores. Is that
a true statement where the Travelers Championshipcan really build your confidence as a player,
absolutely a million percent. You know, in my case, it ruined
me. But you know, Iactually had to take a look and see
exactly how I did there. Iplayed, I missed two. I missed

(07:25):
two out of the two or threetimes I played there. I think my
lowest round was was sixty seven,and then my highest round was seventy two.
It's just like, and meanwhile,guys are going out there and like
you said, or fifty nine andwhatnot. But no, it's exactly true
because it teaches you how to makebirdies again, because again, they just
came off for two weeks not makingany birdie, and now all of a

(07:45):
sudden they're going out there and they'remaking five, you know, six eight
birdies in a round that's massive.That gives guys all kinds of confidence to
go out there and you know,and take it to the go off course
the next time because I'm not afraidof making a bunch of birdies. And
I think that's why the players absolutelylove it up there. I think it
just you're right. It does givea lot of players conference Like Tony.

(08:07):
I don't know if he's playing thisweek, and it'll be a long stretch
for him, but he might bebecause he's he's one or a few years
ago. Tony Few, Rickey Bolershould have pretty good weeks coming up.
In this week's Rocket Mortgage, takeme through the putting and how these guys
set up for it, because wewatch them all week. I'm fascinated,
you know, by the routine thatthey do. And I know, like

(08:28):
a foul shooter does that. Idid it as a pitcher. Hitters do
it at the plate to get yourselfmentally prepared. Are they doing some of
that routine as well to lower theirheart rate for these big putts because I
can't even imagine standing over a threepoint six million dollar putt. I've talked
to guys on tour. They're likeThat's why one guy that was on the
Nike tour that I'm good friends withquit. He says, I couldn't make

(08:52):
the big putts. I mean,tell me what they're doing all week to
get prepared for these putts. Well, you know, I the reason why
you go into a routine is thatyou can do the same exact thing no
matter what the circumstance are. Youknow, I think that if I think
that if you had a different routineevery single time, what do you have
to fall back on when things goeither awry or they get stressful, you

(09:15):
know, things like that. That'swhy everybody has a routine. And the
routine is is it's not cumbersome.It's just something that you do to calm
yourself down. It's it's it's likesomething you do every single day without fail,
and it just becomes habit, andthat habit should make things just a
little bit more comfortable for you.And you know, everybody's got a different

(09:37):
routine, just like pitching in baseballand shooting pre throws and things like that.
And you're right, though, thereare some guys that they get into
that big moment and they can't separatethe fact that you know, this is
just another part. I mean,And the one thing that I will say
about it too, though, isthat in order for the players to be
the best in the world and todo what Scotty Scheffler does, because I

(09:58):
can tell you Scotty Sheffeer it feelscomfortable. Sometimes you got to be comfortable
being uncomfortable out there. And ifyou're if you're not comfortable with if you're
not comfortable standing over a putt foryou know, for three point six million
or whatever it is, and thenthere's you know, plenty of real estate
jobs out there. You know,you can do anything else, but I
mean, it's you have to beyou have to embrace that that discomfort because

(10:22):
if you don't, you're you're inthe wrong job, because that's all it
is, one great big pressure cookerout there. To cut or not to
cut, that is my question richbeing to cut, Yeah, they need
I mean, I think that hopefullywhat you'll see going forward is going to
have even last week when you hadwhat sixty nine players originally because Rory bailed

(10:43):
out, you know you're going tohave I think you need to have a
cut down to at least the lowforty five to low fifty because I think
that adds a little bit more dramato some of those guys on Friday afternoon.
I mean, I think that we'veseen a year after year on tour.
I think you need to have acut at all events, including the
including those signature ones, the limitedfield ones. I do I do enjoy

(11:07):
though. Listen Harry English speed finished. I think forty fifth Kegan Bradley was
tight for thirty ninth. I mean, these guys kicked the course but a
couple of years ago, and thenyou could drop all the way down to
almost last. I mean that's thebeauty of golf man. Week to week.
These guys go from winning to youknow, barely making the cut.

(11:30):
That's kind of why I like thecut system. That if you have a
couple of bad first days, man, you're you're onto the next course and
you're you're watching the Sunday on TV. Yep, that's exactly right. I
mean Wills del Torres said it perfectly. He missed the cut at the US
Open and hopped on a plane andgot up to Hartford and spent half a
day Saturday and then all day Sundayout through the driving ranging working on it

(11:52):
and what do you know he turnsout to be, you know, one
of the leaders after the first roundand you know, listen, cuts happened
every player. I mean, it'sthat's just the way it goes, and
you know, there's no guarantees.In fact, it probably makes the guys
fight even harder because there's a coupleof guys I'm sure, And I'm certainly
not gonna call anybody out because Idon't I never would do that, but

(12:15):
you know, when you're out thereand you just don't have it and it's
a limited field event like it isout there, and you know you're going
to get a check anyways, sometimesyou're not gonna you know, I wouldn't
say you're not going to put yourbest foot forward, but if it's not
going your way, you're going toconserve energy and you know, you're just
going to do what it is.You know, you're just going to kind
of go through the motions a littlebit. You havent Do you have any

(12:39):
favorite local fair that you got intowhen you're in Connecticut that you can tell
us about, maybe a restaurant ormaybe some action that you got in town.
Rob got told us to go tothe l El Santo. Oh you
went to Did you go on Thursdaynight and do the Solsa lessons? Oh?
I wish I did. He tookactually took Tommy Fleetwood and and uh

(13:09):
his son, and then we alsohad Justin Rose and and he brought uh,
he brought his trainer and then andthen Tommy's caddy as well. So
we had seven of us and whata cool atmosphere that was, really and
his food was fantastic, out ofthis world good. And they probably had
no idea who in the hell youpeople were? We had no I I
mean no, it was. Theyput us all the way in the back,

(13:31):
but they had no idea. No. And oh my god, the
tequila selection, Oh yes, thatwas delightful. Way to go, Rob,
that comes up, But I can'ttake credit for that. I got
to give credit to my wife andall these people actually love to go to
al Santo. I'm more of theMax's Oyster Bar and steak guy, gotcha
the meat potatoes guy. I ssomething though. Right next door to Alsando

(13:54):
though, there's this place called thebeam Is Built my last name, Yeah,
And I'm like going, okay,wait a second here, who is
this? And why am I notin on this deal. We'll talk to
him this week. We'll see whatwe're here. Yeah, and I'm gonna
look them up. Yeah, hassomething to do with with I don't know,
like laser treatment or something like that. I'm like, dude, yeah,

(14:16):
that's all me. Man, Hey, when you come back, I
promise I'm not gonna be coaching baseball. Uh. During that weekend, we'll
we'll definitely go out. That soundsgrand, my friend. I'm all in.
I'm all right. Thanks for visiting. And that's all that she did.
Man, Absolutely, you're the best. You came by every day and

(14:37):
then even today you traveled home,you took a nap and came on.
I love you, man, you'rethe best. I love you too.
Yeah. My nap was delightful too. I'm so good at napping. I'm
just at that right age where nappingit's just like right up my alley.
Okay. But now that you're up, you can you know have that.
I just got home, Servesa,that's exactly right. Now we're gonna we're

(14:58):
gonna am I gonna keel again.Yeah, there you go. Pretty good
stuff here too. So we're gonnago out for some for some true Mexican
text mex tonight. So there yougo, Thank you, rich All you
got it boys, b Well,have a great afternoon, me too,
one of the best, Rich Beameverybody, two thousand and two PGA champion
joining us there. Uh. We'llcome back with the first Dips question of
the day and then next hour whowe had still haven't finished Omaha. By

(15:24):
the way, the finale is tonightbetween Texas A and M and Tennessee.
We'll talk more about that coming up. We'll be right back in the Rob
Deville Show with Ben Darnell in yourafternoon Drive on Fox Sports Radio.