Begay looks to capture past glory - Wednesday, August 23, 2006

BEGAY LOOKS TO SHRUG OFF HIS RECENT STRUGGLES AND CAPTURE PAST GLORIES

Five years of chronic back injuries and an occasionally wayward game could have put Notah Begay III in a not-so-happy place.

But the winner of the inaugural Reno-Tahoe Open in 1999 chooses instead to stay focused on the positive. It worked at the Buick Championship in Hartford, Conn., in July, and he's hoping it works again this week at the Reno-Tahoe Open at Montreux Golf & Country Club.

"I played well at Hartford, and I'd won there," he said.

Begay has bounced back and forth from the PGA Tour (playing in his ninth event) and the Nationwide Tour (10) this year, and his experiences on the big tour haven't been all that rewarding -- just two cuts made.

One of those, however, was the Buick Championship, where he finished tied for ninth, his best showing since tying for third at the B.C. Open more than two years ago.

Begay, who was a college teammate of Tiger Woods at Stanford, has won four times, twice in 1999 when he was a rookie, and twice again in 2000. His last victory was the 2000 Canon Greater Hartford Open (now the Buick Championship).

He's hoping the chemistry that worked for him there can spark something in Reno, too.

"You've got a lot of good memories, from the people to the golf course to the sensation of winning," he said, explaining the feeling of comfort he experiences by returning to a course where he's won. "I think Tiger put it best. You just see yourself making those putts whenever you replay the holes. So the mind works in funny ways. It's definitely good."

Begay, who tees off from the No. 10 tee at 12:20 p.m. in today's pro-am, said he still battles issues with his back, but said he's healthy enough to be able to compete.

It would certainly would be a big boost to his confidence -- not to mention his status on the tour (he's playing out of a past champions exemption, which gives him conditional status on the PGA Tour) -- to win or at least finish on the leaderboard. A top-10 finish would at least get him in to next week's event where he can develop some momentum.

"I'm just looking to keep playing," he said. "I know things eventually turn in this game -- when it's going bad it doesn't last and when it's going good it doesn't last. As long as you keep your work ethic up and you prepare to win every week, which I've done, you've got to be ready to embrace the momentum when it comes your way."

Begay, who became the first full-blooded Native American to win on tour when he won the 1999 RTO, is now playing for more than just himself. He and his wife, Apryl, were married in November.

"It's fantastic," he said. "We're still in the honeymoon phase, so we get along. Everything's great.

"Maybe that'll change my luck."