MCI CLASSIC

April 15, 2000

Notah Begay III

JOAN vT ALEXANDER: We'd like to welcome Notah Begay into the media center. He shot a 3-under, 68, for an 8-under 205 for the tournament. Let's begin with some statements, and we'll go over some questions.

NOTAH BEGAY: I played very well today. I played well last week at Augusta, and I just didn't make any putts. I switched to this new Ping putter that Ping made for me on Friday morning, and I finally made a few putts. And it makes all the difference in the world, because it gets really, really frustrating when you're hitting the ball well. I think I finished fourth in greens in regulation last week and dead last in putting. So just making a few more putts, that's all.

NOTAH BEGAY: Yeah, switch putting. The basic philosophy behind it is you always want a hook putt. So for a left-to-right breaking putt, you're going to want to hit it left-handed and vice versa. So essentially for me, I see the line better, and I get away with a few more misses than I would normally.

NOTAH BEGAY: Since '93.

NOTAH BEGAY: Everybody asks that question. I usually have less than 10 a year, 10 purely straight putts. I mean, there's always -- you can make a putt straight -- if it has maybe an inch break or a half an inch break, you can always make it straight by hitting it firm. But usually there's always some sort of factor that's going to equate into your line that's going to make it move. Whether it's grain -- or sometimes, if it's straight and I'm putting through my shadow, I'll switch so I don't have to putt through my shadow. If it's windy and I want my wind at my back, or I want to lean into the wind, it just depends. And where the sun is at, if the sun is in my eyes one way --.

NOTAH BEGAY: Usually right inside 30 feet, it's both ways. And then outside 30 feet, I usually have a tendency to go right-handed, just because I hit a lot of my longer chips right-handed, so that feels a little bit more --.

NOTAH BEGAY: Yes.

NOTAH BEGAY: It's natural. It took me about two years to get comfortable, and it took me about two or three more years to trust it. So I started putting pretty good in '98.

NOTAH BEGAY: It's got more weight. And so, if you're going by the physics equation, F=MA. I've got more M, so I have to use less A. Whereas, if I have a lighter putter, I have to use too much A, which is wrist action, which gets -- gets the ball hopping, and it's inconsistent. On the fast greens, I can go with the lighter putter because the ball is rolling a lot farther and it requires less force. But essentially, that's why I'm having an easier time with the putter, because it probably weighs, maybe twice as much as my other one. Somewhere in there, I don't know.

NOTAH BEGAY: Yeah, I mean it wasn't necessarily that I had a putting problem. It was just I was struggling with the reads of the greens. That place is really tricky, and I did everything I could. I played with Crenshaw on Monday, Tiger on Tuesday, so I tried to get as much information as I could on the greens. But I just under-read a lot of putts there, and that's uncharacteristic for me, because I have a tendency on other courses to over-read, because I like to dial the putts in the hole.

NOTAH BEGAY: I guess I found out the hard way. I played very consistent and just didn't really have any good putting days.

NOTAH BEGAY: I was? Thank you.

NOTAH BEGAY: The first full-blooded Native American person.

NOTAH BEGAY: Half Navajo, one-quarter San Felipe and one-quarter Isleta, and they are all Southwestern tribes. You know, I'm happy to be out here. I'm happy to represent the Native American people, and in some regards to be a role model to a certain extent.

NOTAH BEGAY: The Bureau of Indiana Affairs, and now works for the Indian Health Service, both branches of the federal government that work with Indian causes.

NOTAH BEGAY: I think it's more -- a lot of it is opportunity, and a lot of it is a lack of support networks, whether it's just simple encouragement or financial. There's just not a lot -- or facilities. I mean, the most prominent and popular sports on reservations are track and basketball, because you can run in your bare feet essentially, and you just need a ball, and you can get an old bicycle rim and make a homemade one, which I've seen more often than not out on the reservations. But it's just real simple, not a lot of opportunities. But it's getting better, some programs are being started in high schools now on reservations.

NOTAH BEGAY: Oh, I was the most disappointed out of anybody. I let down a lot of people, especially the young kids that looked up to me. But when you're faced with adverse circumstances, I try to handle it as best as possible and show them that not everyone is perfect; there's nobody that goes through life not making any mistakes. And if you do make a mistake, own up to it and move on. I'm not going to dwell on the fact that it happened. I don't even dean that I it happened. The facts are the facts. I've done everything I could to take care of it properly and in the right fashion, and I'm back playing good golf.

NOTAH BEGAY: Birdies on 2. I got up-and-down out of the back bunker. Bogey on 5, just hit it over the green and got luck and I hit a cameraman and couldn't -- I mean, I just misjudged the wind because it switched, and hit a camera guy. It was going right for one of those bushes, and I didn't have a swing. I was right up against it and just pitched it out and almost hit it back over the green into the bunker. 7, I hit a 6-iron about 12 feet and left-handed. 13, hit a 9-iron about 10 feet, left-handed. And 16, hit a wedge in there about 12 feet. Hit it in right-handed.

NOTAH BEGAY: I like my chances. I mean, I think it's definitely feasible, but you're talking Ernie Els, here. I mean, the guy definitely -- he's not looking over his shoulder at me. So he's going to go out and he's going to play great golf tomorrow, and I'm going to have to play spectacular golf. And if I do, great, and if I don't, you know, he probably deserves to win it if he goes out and executes.

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