Notah adds American flavour - Wednesday, January 24, 2007

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates -- Notah Begay III will provide the unique native American flavour to the Dubai Desert Classic when he joins a classy line-up, spearheaded by Tiger Woods - his friend since their Stanford University days - at the Emirates Golf Club from February 1-4. Notah needed to beat a chronic back injury and a bout of depression to earn his 2007 European Tour playing privileges at the Qualifying School Final Stage last November in Spain. And his performance in the first event at Abu Dhabi where he finished tied 69 says it all: he is fit and looks hungry for better results. "Yes, indeed. I played great. I hadn't played for eight weeks and coming out and playing like this.. it's tremendous. I have no regrets," said Notah, well-known for putting left and right handed. "When I played in Abu Dhabi it will be the first time in six years that I had been 100 per cent fit," he said. "I was in excruciating pain. I could not take a plane because I could only sit down for 20 minutes and I'd sleep for two hours a night. That affected my confidence going and led me to depression." The only full-blooded Native American on the Tour, Notah is no stranger to competing at the highest level, having won four PGA Tour tournaments and becoming the only third player in the history of the game to shoot 59 in a professional event at the Nike Dominion Open. A registered member of the Navajo nation, Begay is aware that he is different from the average golfer and believes his presence on the European Tour will raise awareness of the problems facing his people. Born and raised in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Notah leads the fight against diabetes by encouraging Native communities to pursue healthier lifestyles. "We have created a lot of programmes on diabetes awareness since diabetes is killing us three times more than the national average," he said. "In addition, we launched an initiative called the Notah Begay III Foundation in 2005, aimed at getting today's youth active through soccer and golf programmes," said Notah, a close friend of Tiger Woods. "We became close mainly because we knew we were different," Begay said. "When I started playing golf I was aware that there were no brown or dark people. I knew Tiger was special," said. "It will be nice to see the two friends of their university days playing together in Dubai for the first time," said Mohammad Juma Bu Amim, vice-chairman of golf in DUBAI, the promoters and organisers of the Dubai Desert Classic. "Notah's efforts off the golf course are admirable as his accomplishments on the golf course. His inclusion in the starting line-up has given the Dubai Desert Classic this unique global look to it, something which we are proud of. "I wish him well for all the charity work he is doing for his Native community and wish him well in his first appearance in the Dubai Desert Classic." golf in DUBAI is backed by Dubal (Dubai Aluminium) as the main partner and National Bank of Dubai, Emaar, Jumeirah Hotels, Emirates airline, BMW, Jumeirah Golf Estates, Gulf News, Omega and CNN as partners in its drive to showcase the emirate's vibrant golfing scene to a worldwide audience.