Tag: Notah Begay

Notah Begay joins revolving carousel of analysts to audition for NBC job at 2024 Valspar Championship

Begay’s audition follows appearances from Kevin Kisner, Brandel Chamblee, Luke Donald and Jim “Bones” Mackay.

Another week on the PGA Tour, another tryout for the open chair calling golf for NBC.

Notah Begay is jumping on the revolving carousel of lead analysts for the network for this week’s 2024 Valspar Championship at Innisbrook Resort‘s Copperhead Course in Palm Harbor, Florida. The 51-year-old has done well in his role as an on-course reporter for NBC and Golf Channel since he joined the network more than a decade ago and has taken a stab at commentary in the past.

“I’m excited and nervous,” Begay said to Golf Digest. “If we go back to (Johnny Miller), he made it look so simple and spoke from a strong position of experience. (Paul Azinger) did a wonderful job with his energy, and you could tell he still really loved to watch the game of golf.”

Begay is the latest talking head to throw his hat in the ring after Azinger wasn’t re-signed for the 2024 season, joining the likes of Kevin Kisner, Brandel Chamblee, and Luke Donald. Jim “Bones” Mackay also sat in the chair during the Mexico Open on an off week caddying for Justin Thomas.

“I mean, there’s a definite pressure, but that’s what professional athletes deal with all the time,” he said. “I spent a career dealing with pressure. … It’s a different kind of pressure because you’re being critiqued and evaluated, and that’s OK. We should be scrutinized and called out when we make mistakes because we should be ready for the big moments.”

“You hate to lose at anything,” he added. “You get to the PGA Tour because you don’t like to lose. But these decisions are made in the best interest of the NBC team, so whatever decisions are made, I’ll support it 100 percent. My job at that point, if it isn’t me, is to support whoever’s in there and allow them to be the best they can possibly be.”

Known for his connections to Tiger Woods after the pair were teammates at Stanford, Begay turned pro in 1995 after the Cardinal won the NCAA Championship in 1994. He won four times on the PGA Tour from August 1999-July 2000 and then struggled with injuries and form before he joined the NBC crew in 2012.

[lawrence-auto-related count=4 category=1375]

PGA Tour Champions Q school final features a former major winner, a former Major Leaguer, a Golf Channel analyst and a 72-year-old

Smoltz will be vying for one of five cards that will be handed out at TPC Scottsdale.

Baseball Hall of Famer John Smoltz is among the 78 golfers who earned a spot in the final stage of qualifying for the PGA Tour Champions.

Smoltz, 55, will be vying for one of five cards that will be handed out at the end of the week at TPC Scottsdale’s Champions Course.

Smoltz won 213 games over a 21-year career as a pitcher. In three previous attempts at Q school, he hasn’t finished better than tied for 54th in the first stage.

Smoltz won a World Series with the Atlanta Braves in 1995. He won the National League Cy Young award in 1996. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2015.

He hasn’t competed on PGA Tour Champions since 2021, but he has played in nine events overall, including the 2018 U.S. Senior Open.

Other notables/hopefuls at TPC Scottsdale this week include:

  • NBC/Golf Channel reporter Notah Begay III, back at qualifying for a second year in a row
  • Former Arizona State golfer Todd Demsey, who likes to use persimmon clubs
  • Shaun Micheel, whose lone PGA Tour win was the 2003 PGA Championship
  • Ted Purdy, who grew up down the I-10 in Tucson and went to the University of Arizona
  • 54-year-old amateur Bryan Hoops of Scottsdale, who claims 19 holes-in-one, with 15 of them coming in tournaments
  • Jonathan Kaye, who won two PGA Tour events, including the 2004 FBR Open (now the WM Phoenix Open) at the TPC Scottsdale’s Stadium Course
  • 72-year-old Dick Mast, who’s played in 360 PGA Tour events and another 191 Champions events without a win. He does have four victories on the Korn Ferry Tour, the most recent in 1999. He got in the field at the last minute after Andrew Marshall withdrew

The first tee times are Tuesday at 8:30 a.m. local (10:30 a.m. ET). Smoltz is playing alongside Daniel Chopra and Jason Bohn at 8:52 a.m. local time off the first tee. The event concludes on Friday. Admission is free for anyone interested in attending.

[lawrence-auto-related count=1 tag=2362]

Social media is going nuts over a video of Tiger Woods caddying for Charlie, walking without a limp

Is a return on the horizon?

Could we be seeing Tiger Woods back on the golf course sooner rather than later? Judging by a recent video going viral on X (formerly known as Twitter), that may just be the case.

Tiger is caddying for his son, Charlie, this weekend in the Notah Begay III Junior Golf National Championship at Koasati Pines at Coushatta in Louisiana. After Charlie hit is opening tee shot, the video continues as it follows the Woods boys off the tee box and shows Tiger — while carrying Charlie’s bag — walking without a limp, or at least without a noticeable one.

After withdrawing from the 2023 Masters, Woods got ankle surgery to further clean up his lower leg after his near-fatal car accident caused critical damage.

Earlier this week in Mexico, Stewart Cink told the media Tiger was practicing again.

“He said he started practicing,” he said. “I don’t know what for. I don’t even like to ever ask because he’s always afraid you’re going to go tell everybody so I just said I’m glad you’re practicing.”

Here are some reactions from social media.

With Tiger Woods as his caddie, Charlie Woods sinks putt on 18 to win Notah Begay event

Charlie captured the 14-15 age division title after posting a final-round 66, his career-best in competition.

Charlie Woods seems to possess a number of the same attributes as his father, whether it’s enjoying a little trash talk on the golf course or rising to the occasion in big moments.

And much like Tiger Woods seemed to do with ease while amassing 82 PGA Tour victories and 15 major titles, Charlie Woods stepped up and buried an important putt at an opportune time during the recent Notah Begay III Junior Golf National Championship.

Charlie captured the title in the 14-15 age division at Mission Inn in Orlando by posting a final-round 66, his career-best in competition. And just like his dad has done so many times, Woods dropped a testy birdie putt on the final hole to secure the victory.

After firing a 71 during the opening round, Woods rolled in nine birdies during the second round. He said having his father as his caddie helps to keep him grounded during these events.

“We just stay in our own little world. We take it one shot at a time. He puts me in my place,” Charlie said of having Tiger on the bag.

[pickup_prop id=”31989″]

Tiger Woods’ chances at Masters 2023: Here’s what Brandel Chamblee, Trevor Immelman, Andy North and more have to say

Forget what will Phil do next? The more intriguing question is: What’s the next trick up Tiger’s sleeves?

Forget what will Phil do next? The more intriguing question is: What’s the next trick up Tiger’s sleeves?

Tiger’s opening-round 70 a year ago at Augusta National en route to making the cut was one of the most impressive rounds of 2022 when you consider that it was just some 13 months earlier that he was involved in a near-fatal car accident and could have lost his right leg.

Tiger’s game looked sharp in the first round of the Genesis Invitational at Riviera in February, his lone start in an official PGA Tour event since missing the cut at the British Open in July. It reinvigorated talk about the possibility of a 16th major title for Woods, who has slipped into the winner’s Green Jacket on five occasions, most recently in 2019 at age 43.

Tiger’s quest to get closer to Jack Nicklaus’s record of 18 majors (and six Green Jackets) already has the TV talking heads buzzing. Here’s a snippet of what the CBS, ESPN and Golf Channel analysts had to say:

Brandel Chamblee, Golf Channel

How Tiger plays, I think, will captivate us beyond belief.

Notah Begay, Golf Channel

The fact that he was able to play (at the Genesis Invitational in February) at the level after basically being on the bench for six months, to come out and make a cut, I just can’t even get my mind around that.

Andy North, ESPN

To be able to get around there is so difficult. It’s just — for him it’s such an uphill battle. But in the back of your mind, you still believe that you get something rolling, you just never know.

Curtis Strange, ESPN

It wouldn’t surprise me at all if he got us on the edge of our seat for the first couple of days, but can he sustain it? I think that L.A. kind of just made me look forward more to the Masters because he’s still got something in that body.

Trevor Immelman, CBS

If he somehow finds a way to get his name in and around that leaderboard come the second nine on Sunday afternoon it will be all systems go out there.

Scroll below for their takes on Tiger at the Masters.

[pickup_prop id=”32841″]

‘He might surprise everybody’: Notah Begay is ‘fairly certain’ Tiger Woods will play PNC Championship and maybe more

Woods’ last appearance on the golf course came at the 150th Open Championship.

Tiger Woods is golf, and it’s been a bummer to have him mostly absent from the game since his single-car crash left his lower body severely wounded.

Of course, we saw him at the Masters, where he made the cut, at the PGA Championship, where he withdrew after the third round, and the Open at St. Andrews, where he missed the weekend.

Woods hasn’t resurfaced much since his appearance at the Old Course, aside from his visit to the BMW Championship at the end of last season for a meeting regarding the LIV Golf Series.

Well, that might change sooner rather than later.

Notah Begay, Woods’ long-time friend dating back to their days at Stanford, joined Colt Knost and Drew Stoltz on SiriusXM PGA Tour Radio to discuss his appearance on the PGA Tour Champions this week. Among other things, they talked a bit about Woods and his recovery.

Begay mentioned that he’s “fairly certain” we’ll see Woods tee it up with his son, Charlie, at the PNC Championship in December.

He also added that “(Woods) might surprise everybody” and play in a fall event.

The field for the Hero World Challenge played in the Bahamas, a tournament Woods hosts, was released Tuesday and Tiger’s name wasn’t listed, though three exemptions will be announced at a later date.

[listicle id=778296639]

[mm-video type=playlist id=01es6rjnsp3c84zkm6 player_id=01evcfxp4q8949fs1e image=https://golfweek.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

Presidents Cup: The time Tiger Woods messed with Notah Begay and Fred Couples killer prank

Notah Begay can only remember one time when Tiger Woods didn’t pay attention to him.

Notah Begay can only remember one time when Tiger didn’t pay attention to him. It was during the 2000 Presidents Cup and Begay asked him for a layup number at a par 5.

“It was alternate shot, and I asked him for a number that he wanted, and he wouldn’t tell me,” Begay recalled. “So what I did was I laid him up to his most uncomfortable number because I knew what his most uncomfortable number was.”

What was the yardage that made Tiger uncomfortable? Begay said it was just inside 100 yards.

“So I laid him up to a bad number on purpose because he was making me mad,” Begay said.

His move almost cost them big time in their match as Tiger skulled the third shot over the green into a back bunker, and forcing Begay to splash out close to the hole just to escape with a tie.

“We both walked off the green kind of chuckling at each other because he knew that he actually should have given me a number for me to lay up to instead of me having to figure it out on my own,” Begay said. “But we’re like brothers. We always have been.”

You can read the full Q&A with Begay here.

That’s not the only time a Presidents Cup teammate of Tiger’s has messed with him.

Fred Couples recently recounted the story of the time he had the 2009 U.S. Presidents Cup team believing that he’d stuck Tiger’s name in the envelope in case an International player had an injury.

Watch Freddie tell the story of his prank, which was so good it had Tiger texting Couples, “Dude, you got the biggest balls of anyone I’ve ever seen.”

[vertical-gallery id=778298183]

Q&A: Notah Begay III on senior golf goals, what about Tiger Woods annoys him and how good is Charlie Woods?

“I think Tiger should be allowed anywhere he wants. Anybody that’s made over $100 million should have his own category.”

Notah Begay III turned 50 on Wednesday and is preparing to embark on a second career moonlighting as a golfer on PGA Tour Champions – he’s signed up for Furyk & Friends next month in Jacksonville.

Begay won four times on the PGA Tour in a 10-month stretch in 1999 and 2000 before a back injury short-circuited his career. He made a successful transition as a TV commentator for NBC Sports and Golf Channel and has been walking the fairways with the likes of his former Stanford teammate Tiger Woods for the last decade.

Begay, who is scheduled to serve as captain of the U.S. Junior Presidents Cup this weekend in Charlotte, also has carved a niche in junior golf, creating the Notah Begay III Junior Golf Championship.

Begay was part of Stanford men’s golf national championship team in 1994, shot a 59 on the Korn Ferry Tour in 1998 and earned more than $5 million during his playing career.

He discusses the great mulligan that is the PGA Tour Champions and his eagerness to compete again, the time Tiger gave him a bad layup number and just how good Charlie Woods is – and could be – at golf.

Notah Begay will play APGA Tour event TPC Scottsdale

Notah Begay won four times on the PGA Tour.

Notah Begay is putting down the microphone and picking up the golf clubs.

The long-time Golf Channel on-course reporter and analyst has entered the Advocates Professional Golf Association’s event at the Champions Course at TPC Scottsdale. The two-day, 36-hole stroke play tournament will be Monday and Tuesday. Begay is in the field as a special guest participant.

The APGA Tour field includes Kamaiu Johnson, who won a weather-shortened event in Las Vegas last Tuesday, as well as the 2021 TPC Scottsdale event winner Ryan Alford. Willie Mack III, Aaron Beverly, Kevin Hall and Tim O’Neal are also in the field.

Begay is in the first group off with O’Neal and Mack at 10:06 a.m. local time (1:06 p.m. ET).

Begay has four wins on the PGA Tour. Prior to turning pro, he was a college teammate of Tiger Woods at Stanford when the Cardinal won the NCAA championship in 1994.

Begay devotes much of his time to the NB3 Foundation, which provides health and wellness education for the American Indian youth.

[mm-video type=playlist id=01es6rjnsp3c84zkm6 player_id=01evcfxp4q8949fs1e image=https://golfweek.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

Notah Begay III on COVID-19: I’m going to lose family members

The Navajo Nation has been especially hard hit by the virus, the Golf Channel analyst said.

While many in the golf world have dealt with simple inconveniences due to the coronavirus pandemic, Notah Begay III’s worries run much deeper.

The Navajo Nation is being severely hit by the virus. The region stretches across a swath of Begay’s home state of New Mexico as well as portions of Arizona and Utah. As of Tuesday evening, according to this report from the Arizona Republic, the nation had 426 identified cases, with 17 confirmed deaths — an increase in 42 cases from the previous day.

The virus has preyed on the tribe’s elderly population and its spread has been especially deadly in the reservation’s small, remote communities, where residents are all but cut off from health care facilities and other essential services.

On a Golf Channel conference call on Thursday afternoon, Begay — who is half-Navajo and 100 percent Native American — had trouble getting through a brief update, admitting the issue is cutting far too close to home.

“I’m probably the one on the call who wishes we were at Augusta the most,” the Golf Channel analyst said. “It would certainly mean that my community wasn’t getting decimated by the COVID-19 crisis. It’s the most highly impacted community in the world right now.”

More than 2,000 people have tested negative for COVID-19, according to a Tuesday press release from the Navajo Nation. Begay said that about 75 percent of his relatives still live on these reservations

“They’re really at the epicenter of this issue. It’s kind of with a heavy heart that I deal with this and I try to push through. It’s been difficult,” he said. 

“There’s a historical context here that it’s tough for me to deal with. Basically, we’ve been working on getting supplies, food, as many resources as possible. It’s a scary thing for me. It’s a scary process. 

“I’m going to lose some family members, I’m quite certain of it. And I just don’t know who it’s going to be.”

Through his NB3 Foundation, Begay is trying to assist the families hardest hit by the epidemic.

“We want to get direct resources —food and water — to families that live in a lot of the rural areas of these reservations. There are people out there that have zero internet access, they don’t have mobile phone reception, they don’t know what’s going on,” Begay said.

“We’re hopeful we can get through all this and hopeful that we can get back into a regular golf schedule at some point, but in the meantime it’s boots on the ground for me and I’m doing anything and everything … I feel really helpless at this point.”

[lawrence-related id=778035170,778035090,778034823]