Rich Beem was born on August 24th, 1970 in Arizona, USA. He turned pro in 1994 but struggled to establish himself in his early years. He even sold car stereos and cell phones to make enough money to carry on playing golf. In 1999 he qualified to play on the PGA Tour.

In his rookie season on tour he won the Kemper Open. Three years later his second victory followed when he won the INTERNATIONAL. His next start was the PGA Championship, one of the four majors. He was in contention on Sunday and shot a final round 66 to beat Tiger Woods by one shot.