Bill Nichols

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IRVING – Pro golfer Rich Beem has plenty in common with Cowboys scouting assistant Rich Behm.

Their names are pronounced the same, both are called "Beemer," are in their 30s, have young children and work in professional sports.

So when golfer Rich Beem read that Cowboys scouting assistant Rich Behm was left paralyzed during the recent collapse of the Cowboys practice facility, the story struck home. He couldn't help but put himself in Behm's position.

So Beem, who lives in Austin, called his agent to find out how he could help his fallen namesake. Formation of the "Beem Fore Behm" charity was announced Tuesday.

At the HP Byron Nelson Championship and the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial during the next two weeks, Beem has pledged $100 for every birdie he makes to the Behm family. Fans can donate, too, with pledges on Beem or any other player.

Callaway Golf stepped up by offering a set of clubs to the donors who come closest to guessing the number of birdies. The PGA Tour and the Cowboys took active roles. Beem's tour bag, signed by other players, is being auctioned at the Cowboys tent at the TPC Four Seasons at Las Colinas. Pledges can also be made on pgatour.com.

Beem said his next-door neighbor has pledged to donate $10,000 for every stroke under par he finishes at both tournaments.

"I wanted to do something to help him out, and I wasn't expecting to do a whole lot," Beem said. "But it's been an amazing process. A lot of folks are making my job pretty easy. I just have to go make birdies now."

Beem ranks 60th on Tour in birdie average with 3.61 per round. His three victories include one major, the 2002 PGA Championship. That's when he became known for swigging Pepto-Bismol during pressure-packed rounds.

He may need some of the pink stuff over the next two weeks because his profile has risen dramatically.

"I was just going to come down here and maybe slide under the radar and see if we can't get back in the mix of things," Beem said, laughing. "But unfortunately I'm going to be front and center it looks like."

Beem is a streaky player who can go low. He said the charity will probably entice him to fire more aggressively at flags.

"I'm actually looking forward to the challenge," he said. "It's going to be fun. I won't really change my game much, but hopefully we'll zero in a little bit more and make some putts."

It seemed fitting that Beem made his announcement at the Nelson. The tournament has raised more than $107 million for charity, the most of any Tour event.

One person Beem can count on for support is Cowboys coach Wade Phillips.

"We have two Rich Behms to pull for now – ours and now we've got one on the PGA Tour that is doing a lot of great things," Phillips said. "We appreciate him doing that. That's really special. Certainly it's close to our heart."