Notah Ryan Begay III (born September 14, 1972) is a Native American professional golfer. He is one of the only Native American golfers to have played in the

PGA Tour The PGA Tour (stylized in all capital letters as PGA TOUR by its officials) is the organizer of professional golf tours in the United States and North America. It organizes most of the events on the flagship annual series of tournaments also ...

. Since 2013, Begay has served as an analyst with the

Golf Channel Golf Channel (also verbally referred to as simply Golf) is an American sports television network owned by the NBC Sports Group division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. Founded in Birmingham, Alabama, it is currently based out of NBC S ...

and NBC Sports.

Amateur career

Begay was born and raised in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and graduated from a private high school,

Albuquerque Academy Albuquerque Academy is an independent, co-educational day school for grades 6-12 located in Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States. It is accredited by the Independent Schools Association of the Southwest

. He attended Stanford University, where he was a three-time All-American and a teammate of

Tiger Woods Eldrick Tont "Tiger" Woods (born December 30, 1975) is an American professional golfer. He is tied for first in PGA Tour wins, ranks second in men's major championships, and holds numerous golf records. * * * Woods is widely regarded as ...

. He was a member of Stanford's 1994

NCAA Division I Men's Golf Championship The NCAA Division I Men's Golf Championship, played in late May or early June, is the top annual competition in U.S. men's collegiate golf. The teams that win their respective Division I conference championships are given automatic spots in th ...

team. After graduation, Begay turned professional in 1995.

Professional career

Nike Tour

In 1998, Begay shot a 59 in the second round of the

Nike Tour Nike often refers to: * Nike (mythology), a Greek goddess who personifies victory * Nike, Inc., a major American producer of athletic shoes, apparel, and sports equipment Nike may also refer to: People * Nike (name), a surname and feminine given ...

Dominion Open, to join the few golfers to ever shoot a 59 in a professional tournament. He placed 10th on the Nike Tour money list that year, earning a place on the

for 1999.

PGA Tour

Begay had a pair of wins in each of his first two seasons on the Tour. From late September 1999 to early July 2000, a period of just over nine months, Begay recorded four PGA Tour wins, with the third and fourth wins coming in successive weeks. Since then, he was plagued by back trouble which put his future as a professional golfer in doubt. In 2005, he played under a "Major Medical Exemption" with little success. In 2006, he played on the Nationwide Tour. At the end of 2006, he successfully earned a card for the

European Tour The European Tour (currently known as the DP World Tour for sponsorship reasons), legally the PGA European Tour is the leading men's professional golf tour in Europe. The organisation also operates the European Senior Tour (for players aged fi ...

from their qualifying school. In December 2008, he regained his playing card for the 2009 PGA Tour season at Q-school. Begay has been featured in the top 20 of the

Official World Golf Rankings The Official World Golf Ranking is a system for rating the performance level of professional golfers. It was started in 1986. The rankings are based on a player's position in individual tournaments (i.e. not pairs or team events) over a "rolli ...

. He successfully utilized a unique putting method. Using a putter with playing faces on both the front and back of the head, he putted right-to-left-breaking putts right-handed, and left-to-right-breaking putts left-handed. Begay is the first top player to use such a technique and putter.

Personal life

Begay is a Native American of the Navajo, San Felipe, and

Isleta Pueblo of Isleta ( tix, Shiewhibak , kjq, Dîiw'a'ane ; nv, Naatoohó ) is an unincorporated community and Tanoan pueblo in Bernalillo County, New Mexico, United States, originally established in the . The Southern Tiwa name of the pueblo ...

people. He graduated from

in 1990 and earned a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University o ...

degree in

Economics Economics () is the social science that studies the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interactions of economic agents and how economies work. Microeconomics analyzes ...

in 1995 from Stanford University. In January 2000, Begay was arrested for what he admitted, in court, was actually his second DUI incident. He was sentenced to 364 days in jail with all but seven days suspended. Begay was named one of ''Golf Magazine’s'' Innovators of the Year in 2009 and has also been named one of the Top 100 Sports Educators in the world by the Institute for International Sport. Begay suffered a heart attack in 2014, while practicing on the putting green at Dallas National Golf Club. He was quickly taken by ambulance to Dallas' Methodist Hospital and a stent was placed in his right coronary artery.

Businesses and Organizations

NB3 Consulting

In 2002, Begay founded NB3 Consulting, which consults with tribal communities looking to build golf courses for the purpose of economic development. Notable courses the company has built includes Sequoyah National, Firekeeper Golf Course, and Sewailo Golf Club.

Notah Begay III Foundation

In 2005, Begay established the non-profit Notah Begay III Foundation. The immediate goal of the foundation was to provide health and wellness education to Native American youth in the form of soccer and golf programs. The broader purpose of the foundation was to stand as a catalyst for change in the Native American community. On August 26, 2008, the foundation hosted the first Notah Begay III Foundation Challenge at the

Turning Stone Resort & Casino Turning Stone Resort Casino is a Native American resort casino owned and operated by the Oneida Indian Nation of New York (OIN) in Verona, New York. The facility opened on July 20, 1993, and offers golf amenities (on- and off-site golf course ...

, a skins golf match to raise money for the foundation. The five players for the tournament were Begay, Stewart Cink,

Vijay Singh Vijay Singh ( hif, विजय सिंह ; born 22 February 1963), nicknamed "The Big Fijian", is a Fijian professional golfer. He has won 34 events on the PGA Tour, including three major championships: one Masters title (2000) and two ...

Camilo Villegas Camilo Villegas (; born 7 January 1982) is a Colombian professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour. Early years Villegas was born in Medellín, Colombia, and took up golf as a child. After several different National Junior Championships in ...

and

Mike Weir Michael Richard Weir, (born May 12, 1970) is a Canadian professional golfer. He currently plays on the PGA Tour Champions. He spent over 110 weeks in the top-10 of the Official World Golf Ranking between 2001 and 2005. He plays golf left-handed ...

. On August 24, 2009, the foundation hosted its second annual Notah Begay III Foundation Challenge at the Turning Stone Resort & Casino.

KivaSun Foods

In 2010, Begay founded KivaSun Foods, selling various bison-based products. In 2015, the company won a contract to have 520,000 pounds of bison distributed through the

Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations The Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (FDPIR) allows Indian Tribal Organizations (ITOs) to operate a food distribution program as an alternative to the Food Stamp Program for those living on or near an Indian reservation. The Food ...

Amateur wins (1)

''this list may be incomplete'' *1995

Northeast Amateur The Northeast Amateur is an amateur golf tournament played annually at the Wannamoisett Country Club in Rumford, Rhode Island. It was first played in 1962. In December 2021, the Northeast Amateur joined with six other tournaments to form the Elite ...

Professional wins (5)

PGA Tour wins (4)

PGA Tour playoff record (1–0)

Other wins (1)

*1998 New Mexico Open

Playoff record

Nike Tour playoff record (0–1)

Results in major championships

CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" = tied

Summary

*Most consecutive cuts made – 4 (2000 Masters – 2000 PGA) *Longest streak of top-10s – 1

Results in The Players Championship

CUT = missed the halfway cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place

Results in World Golf Championships

¹Cancelled due to 9/11
"T" = Tied
NT = No tournament

U.S. national team appearances

Amateur *

Walker Cup The Walker Cup is a golf trophy contested in odd-numbered years by leading male amateur golfers in two teams: United States, and Great Britain and Ireland. The official name is the Walker Cup Match (not "Matches" as in Ryder Cup Matches). It is ...

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The Great Hanshin earthquake str ...

Professional *

Presidents Cup The Presidents Cup is a series of men's golf matches between a team representing the United States and an International Team representing the rest of the world minus Europe. Europe competes against the United States in a similar but considerably ...

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from S ...

(winners) * Wendy's 3-Tour Challenge (representing PGA Tour): 2000 (winners)

References

External links

* * *
Interview with The Times (UK)Notah Begay III Challenge
{{DEFAULTSORT:Begay, Notah American male golfers Stanford Cardinal men's golfers PGA Tour golfers European Tour golfers Golf writers and broadcasters Korn Ferry Tour graduates Navajo sportspeople Golfers from Albuquerque, New Mexico 1972 births Living people 20th-century Native Americans 21st-century Native Americans