Q. Do you think there's something to the fact that you, things are starting to happen in places where you've had success before?
NOTAH BEGAY III: Yeah. The mind just has a funny way of falling back into good habits. And I knew that that would be a good place for me to sort of start my comeback from a playing standpoint. Maybe it was a blessing I didn't go to the U.S. Open because I probably would have just gotten beat up. Look at everybody else.
Q. You played in, was it the, was that the week you played in the Navajo Trails Open?
NOTAH BEGAY III: Yeah. In Durango, Navajo Trails Open.
Q. Can you talk about that a little bit?
NOTAH BEGAY III: Well, it was sort of a last-minute decision to go up and play, and it's an event that's been going on a long time. And it supports some of the local junior golf programs. And I thought that it would be a great way to get in there and try and sharpen my skills up against a slightly less competitive field. And I knew the course was going to be a little easier than what we're used to out here and it must have worked. I shot two sub-par rounds and I know that for a tour winner, and someone that has the pedigree that I have -- but you know being at the low points that I've been at, you're just looking for anything. You're just clawing and scratching for any sign of life in your game. Because you feel like you're on the range and you feel like you are hitting the ball well and you feel like you're putting well and you go out there and you shoot 5-over or 4-over. Not really hitting any bad shots, but it's just that fine tuning and the precision that is a requirement out here. I mean it's just a prerequisite. And I didn't have a team owner or manager that was able to send me down to double-A to see some slower pitches or guys with not as much movement on their fastball. I had to try and come back against the best guys on the best courses. And that sort of it wears on you a little bit.
JOEL SCHUCHMANN: Can we go over your round, real quick. You started on the front side and birdied number three. The par-5.
NOTAH BEGAY III: Laid up to 100 yards. Hit it in there 12 feet. Made the putt.
5th hole, hit the green in two, 3-putted. My eagle putt was about 25 feet.
9th hole, 3-wood, 7-iron, to about 12 feet.
Holed out from the bunker on 10.
And then 15, 9-iron to about four feet.
16, driver and then hit out of the rough. Just sort of the green, chipped up and about three feet.
And then 17, made about a 30-footer. That would have gone past the hole about eight feet.
JOEL SCHUCHMANN: Take a few more questions?
Q. Does this seem normal or does this seem better than normal?
NOTAH BEGAY III: It seems pretty normal. I guess as far as -- if you looked at my stats on paper over the years, I mean, it's abnormal. But I think one thing that I've always kept in my mind that I knew that as soon as my health returned, my game would return too. My game would not be too far behind. And I'm finally healthy. And so I'm just sort of picking up where I left off the in fall of 2000, is playing good golf. It's not like I'm in unfamiliar territory. I know how to play on the weekends, I know how to play with the lead. I've done it here and I've done it on other weeks. I know how to play against the best players in the world. So I'm sort of very comfortable right now.
Q. Sounds like you were able to stay positive through this whole thing. But were there ever moments, weeks where there was more despair, where you really doubted whether you would be returning to tournament golf again?
NOTAH BEGAY III: Pretty much every time I tried to play out here or tried to practice. And my body just wasn't cooperating and wasn't doing what my mind knew it was capable of. That was the most frustrating thing is I knew it was in there. But you just don't respond, the muscles don't fire. And I've got to give probably a majority of the credit to my trainer. Chris Frankel, who has not missed a round of golf this year. Every single hole I've played in practice and in competition, he's been there. And that's the kind of relationship that I wanted to establish at the beginning of the year. But I think that's a testament to his commitment to helping me achieve my goals. And I think once he got to know me a little bit better, he understood that there was something there. And he's just -- he's not finding it for me, he's just allowing it to come to the surface.
Q. You said you were going to watch Windtalkers last night. Did you?
NOTAH BEGAY III: Yeah, it was a great movie.
Q. Enjoy it?
NOTAH BEGAY III: I did.
JOEL SCHUCHMANN: Anything else? Thank you very much.
End of FastScripts....
