Huckleberries: Green gets greener for betting caddie

Huckleberries hears that professional golfer Rich Beem of Austin, Texas, fresh from playing in a Cialis Western Open foursome with Tiger Woods, shot a round of golf at the Black Rock course on Lake Coeur d’Alene on Tuesday. And his caddie is $500 richer for it. But let’s set the scene first. Beem, for you non-golfers, stunned the sports world in 2002 by emerging from the pack to win the PGA Championship at the Hazeltine National Golf Club by a stroke over the favorite, Woods. Before that, he was known for Alan Sipnuck’s book profiling the antics of his caddie and him during his rookie year: “Bud, Sweat & Tees: A Walk on the Wild Side of the PGA Tour.” Also before his upset victory, in December 2001, he married Sara Waide, one of the many volleyball stars in the long string of girls high school state championship teams in St. Maries. Now, onward. Beem was shooting golf at Black Rock with his father-in-law this week when he asked his caddie to predict his score for the back nine. The caddie guessed 34. And Beem proposed this bet, according to a Huckleberry Picker: He’d pay the caddie $500 at the end of the round and every time he shot 34 or better at Black Rock. However, the pro golfer continued, the caddie would have to wear a pink outfit whenever he worked for Beem in the future, if he shot under 34. Beem would purchase the pink garb. The caddie knew his game. And he knew that Beem had downed a brewski or two. So, he ended up in the green rather than the pink. Beem shot a 34 on the back nine for an 18-hole total of 68 and handed over $500, a figure he could afford after earning $45,667 at the Western Open by tying for 21st place, 4 under par.