One stroke away - Monday, September 11, 2006

MESCALERO, N.M. -- As his 30-foot birdie putt on hole No. 16 rolled toward the cup, Notah Begay III raised his putter to the sky, as he knew that he was about to pull within one stroke of the leader, Richard Swift. The putt dropped and the gallery of fans and family cheered.

Searching for the confidence that any PGA Tour professional needs to compete with the finest golfers in the world, Notah had returned to his home state to play in last week's New Mexico Open, held on the Inn of the Mountain Gods Championship Golf Course.

He was one stroke behind Swift, an Australian who continued to hit the right shots at the right times throughout the Tight Lies Tour event. Swift started the day with a 1-stroke lead, but recorded a bogey on his first hole and eventually regained the lead from Notah with four consecutive birdies on holes 8 through 11.

Notah hit his approach shot on No. 17 to within 12 feet, only to watch Swift better his effort with a 100-yard wedge to within 5 feet. Following Notah's par, Swift birdied the 17th and his bogey on No. 18 was enough to earn a 1-stroke victory over the home-state favorite.

"I knew that I was going to have some chances down toward the end," Notah said after Saturday's final round. "If it weren't for the great shot (Swift) hit there on 17, it would have been a completely different ballgame. You have to give Richard credit for doing what he had to do. He got off to a shaky start by bogeying the first hole and he recovered well, made some putts and hit some good shots."

Notah finished the event at 12-under-par, which included his third bogey-free round of the year and played each round of the tournament under par for the third time this season.

"The task for me this week was to work on my mental game," Notah said. "That's really the critical component that I'm missing now. I've had so many negative thoughts and emotions over the past six years - whether they were physically related or technically related - that I need to start rebuilding the mental components to my game. That's what I came here to do. Shoot some good scores and try and handle my mental game very well."

The 2nd-place finish was Notah's highest professional finish since winning the PGA Tour's 2000 Canon Greater Hartford Open.

"I had every chance to win the golf tournament and I just gave a few too many shots away," Notah said. "I didn't come out on top, but you can't win if you're not there."

The former Albuquerque Academy star gave himself a B+ for his efforts throughout the week, pointing to a couple of 3-putts and some missed up-and-downs which could have earned him his first victory in six years.

"As a PGA Tour professional, those are the things I should have done right,” Notah said. It's nothing that can’t be fixed next week. There's always next week in golf, right?"

There sure is and Notah will be playing back on the PGA Tour for the next two weeks at the 84 Lumber Classic in Farmington, Pa., and the Valero Texas Open in San Antonio, respectively.

Be sure to check back with Notah.com to follow NB3 in his quest for victory No. 5 on the PGA Tour.