Larry Beem, father of Rich Been and former NMSU golf coach has died
The New Mexico State University Athletic Department mourns the loss of Aggie All-American and former head golf coach who passed away Friday night.
Beem starred for NM State linksters from 1962-64. He was honored as the Aggies first-ever golf All-American in 1964 after advancing to the quarterfinal round of the NCAA Championships.
The 1964 NM State graduate in business administration was inducted into the US Bank/NM State Athletic Hall of Fame in 1990.
After spending 40 years as a mainstay in the golf industry as a head golf professional and course general manager, Beem returned to his alma mater as head golf coach in 1998 and served for six years before retiring in 2004.
He coached Aggies Scott Lieberworth and Jon Babich to three consecutive conference individual championships from 1999-2001, and led the Aggies to consecutive second place team titles in the rugged Big West Conference of the late 90s.
Beem is the father of PGA professional Rich Beem, another Aggie Hall of Famer and champion of the 2002 PGA Championship among five pro tour wins.
The duo is the only father-son combination in the NM State Hall of Fame.
“Our thoughts and prayer are with the family of ,” said NM State Director of Athletics . “An All-American and Aggie Hall of Famer in his own right, as well as being a head coach. There’s no doubt we lost an important member of the Aggie Golf community.”
Beem was a lifetime member of the Sun Country section of the Professional Golfers Association.
Source: New Mexico State University Athletics
