Qualified for Final Stage! - Saturday, November 04, 2006

ROTA, Spain -- A missed 3-footer and a few deceptive sprinkler heads were not enough to keep Notah Begay III from advancing into next week's European Tour Qualifying School Final Stage.

Notah finished Saturday's final round at the European Tour Q-School Second Stage with a 2-under 70, which was good enough to get him into an 8-man playoff for the final four spots.

Then he dropped a 5-footer on the fourth playoff hole to secure the final spot in next week's European Tour Q-school's Final Stage. There, the top 30 players (and ties) will be eligible for Category 11 Membership of the European Tour for the following season, which is the primary goal of Q-school participants.

"(Friday's) round put me behind the 8-ball," Notah said of his 1-over 73 third-round score. "It was either 'step up' and put together a courageous effort or pack my bags and head back to the USA. Let's just say I wasn't ready to put another stamp on my passport as I secured the final qualifying spot in a playoff."

The top 20 finishers at the European Tour Second Qualifying Stage at Costa Ballena Club de Golf qualified for next week's Final Stage at the San Roque Club, November 9-14.

According to Notah, "At the beginning of the (final) day, 9-under was the cut line for qualifying but the 25-35mph winds in the final round made scoring extremely difficult."

Despite the poor weather, Notah managed an even par first nine.

"I made the turn at even par for the day, 6-under total, and knew that a 2- to 3-under back nine was a necessity," Notah said.

"I proceeded to birdie the 10th and 11th which gave me great momentum heading into the reachable par-5 12th," Notah said.

"After hitting a great drive down the left side of the fairway I made a careless mistake," Notah said. "I measured my distance to the front of the green using the wrong sprinkler head distance. The number I used was 40 yards less than what I actually needed to reach the hole.

"Not knowing that I didn't have enough club, I stepped up and hit my best 3 iron of the week, which headed straight for the flag. I was posing for the cameras and looking to see my ball land next to the hole...instead, it caught the front greenside bunker some 50 yards short of the pin. I couldn't get up and down for birdie, which took some wind out of my sails."

"I knew that I still needed one birdie to give me a great chance of advancing to the final stage," Notah said. "I got that birdie on the 215-yard, par-3 14th hole. I hit a 5 iron to within 15 feet and drained the putt."

"Unfortunately, I bogeyed the 16th hole and had to make a 12-footer on the 18th to save par," Notah said.

"I ended the day at 2-under par with an 8-under total," Notah said. "It was time to play the waiting game to see if that score would hold up.

"Slowly but surely the field was coming back to 8- or 9-under and all I was hoping for was a chance to play for it. At days end, I got that chance and the odds were pretty good."

"I was in an 8-man playoff for four spots," Notah said.

"We started on the par-5 10th hole - a hole that had been giving me trouble all week," Notah said. "Five of us managed to birdie it and three players were eliminated. The odds just got better with five players left for four spots."

"All five players missed the green with their second shots into the par-4 18th," Notah said, "and I was the first to play my third and hit it to within 3 feet. Three players made their par putts, while one other missed leaving me the chance to secure the last spot with my 3-footer...I MISSED it!

"I couldn't believe what had just happened before my eyes and felt like I let one of the biggest opportunities of the year slip through my fingers."

"As I walked from the 18th green back to the 10th tee I started to wonder if I looked up or what the hell could've happened," Notah said. "But I immediately snapped myself out of that frame of thought and went back to my default mechanisms...what's the best way to play the hole and what's my target.

"I hit another great drive right down the middle and my playing partner pushed his drive so far right that he had to hit a provisional for an out-of-bounds.

"I walked to my ball solely under the impression that my playing partner's ball would be in-bounds and that he was going to make a birdie from that position, because that's how it seems to work out in these circumstances. It ended up that his ball was in-bounds, which he advanced to within 30 yards of the green.

"They say history repeats itself but I sure wasn't happy about what was going to happen on my second shot. I hit a 7 iron right at the flag and as I was posing for the cameras, again, it came up 30 yards short.

"I looked at my yardage book and noticed that I used the incorrect sprinkler head again which gave me a bad number. I couldn't believe that I had done it again and under such important circumstances.

"My partner and I had about the same distance to the hole for our third shots which I hit to within 8-feet. He then hit a great shot to within 1 foot and was assured a birdie. I needed to make my 8-footer just to stay in the game.

"I went through my routine, trusted my line and putted into the hole."

"We went back to (Hole) 18, where I needed a 5-footer to advance and in this particular case history did not repeat itself and I rolled it into the hole."

"I'm headed to the Final Stage of the European Tour Q-school and I'm so excited about it," Notah said. "My game held up when it had to and I played with heart."

Notah will continue in his attempt to gain European Tour membership next Thursday at the Final Stage, held at the San Roque Club, located in southern Spain near the Mediterranean Sea.

Be sure to check back with Notah.com to follow NB3 in his quest to earn membership onto the European Tour.