PREVIEW: Panama Championship - Wednesday, January 25, 2006
| PANAMA CITY, Panama - The 2006 NB3 World Tour kicks-off this Thursday at the Movistar Panama Championship, held at the Panama Golf Club. Paired with playing partners Dan Olsen and Parker McLachlin for the first two rounds, Notah Begay III will open his season with an 8 am (ET) tee time on Thursday. "My wife (Apryl) and I are so excited to be here and can't wait to learn more about the country's history and its people," Notah said this week, after arriving in Panama. "We attended a sponsor's reception on Tuesday night at the Panama Canal Museum - an ideal opportunity to see various-sized ships navigate through the intricate 'lock system' of the Canal's design." For the first time since 1998, Notah will begin his season with a Nationwide Tour event (formerly known as the NIKE Tour). Compared to nine years ago, the PGA Tour veteran (four PGA Tour victories) now attacks the game of golf with a bit more savvy. "Heading into my first season on the Nike Tour, I was blinded by my own ambition and a little bit of ignorance," Notah said. "Every time I stepped onto the tee, my goals were to hit it as hard as I could and shoot the lowest score. That plan eventually worked out for me, but wasn't the most efficient way to go about playing golf. "Now with so much more experience under my belt, the end goal remains the same but my means of achieving that goal will be different. I have so much tournament success on my resume, and understand the strategy of the game, that I'm able to play more consistently. I know that will serve me well on the Nationwide in 2006 because my ability to shoot low scores is still there and I hope to do a lot of that this year." The Albuquerque native will travel to four different countries for his first four events of the 2006 season. "After we hit Panama it will be off to the AT&T at Pebble Beach for some golf and celebrity entertainment," Notah said. "That's always a fun event, due to the great golf courses and all of the celebrities trying to act like they're golfers. "Once that commences, we will board a 15-hour flight to Australia on Sunday night arriving in Adelaide on Tuesday at noon. The jetlag will be a little difficult to handle but I think my excitement will offset that a bit. The last leg of the journey will take us to New Zealand, where they filmed much of the blockbuster hit Lord of the Rings." Notah's Upcoming Schedule: Jan. 26-29 - Movistar Panama Championship (Panama GC; Panama City, Panama) Feb. 9-12 - AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am (Pebble Beach Golf Links; Pebble Beach, Calif.) Feb. 16-19 - Jacob's Creek Open Championship (Royal Adelaide GC; Adelaide, Australia) Feb. 23-26 - ING New Zealand PGA Championship (Clearwater CC; Christchurch, New Zealand) Notah continued, "We will then return home for a short break and then the rest of the Nationwide Tour will take place in the contiguous 48 states. Based on the breakdown of the schedule, I will have the chance to see many new cities and hopefully meet more interesting people. The start of the season has gone well so far and I'm planning on playing some great golf." Click here to view Notah's current schedule, which is subject to change. The Panama Golf Club (7,042 yards, par-70) will provide quite a challenge for Notah and the rest of the field, which includes 27 former champions on the PGA Tour, including six-time winner Steve Pate and fellow four-time winners Chip Beck and David Edwards. Be sure to check back with Notah.com to follow NB3 in this week's event. THIS WEEK's BREAKDOWN Notah's History at 3rd Movistar Panama Championship This will mark Notah's first appearance at the Movistar Panama Championship Course Panama Golf Club, Panama City, Panama Notah's Group (Rounds 1 & 2) Dan Olsen (Boyne Falls, Mich.) Parker McLachlin (Gaylord, Mich.) Notah's Tee Times (ET) Th - 8:00 am (10th tee) Fr - 12:30 pm (1st tee) Sa - TBA Su - TBA |
