PREVIEW: Singapore Masters - Wednesday, March 07, 2007
SINGAPORE -- After a few weeks off to enjoy the fine delicacies of Indonesia and Malaysia, Notah Begay III is anxious to resume play on the European Tour, which starts back up this week for the 4-time U.S. PGA Tour winner with the Clariden Leu Singapore Masters.
"Well, I have to say that it's great to be back in tournament mode," Notah said. "The last two weeks were amazing for the fact that my wife, Apryl, and I were able to visit so many beautiful sites. The countries of Indonesia and Malaysia treated us so well that we look forward to coming back soon."
Following the Enjoy Jakarta Astro Indonesia Open a few weeks ago, Notah took the next two events off and is now set to return to the Tour for his first Singapore Masters.
"Now it's time to get back to golf," Notah said. "I know we did some site seeing the past couple of weeks but I didn't neglect my golf. I played quite a few rounds placing an emphasis on scoring only. Sometimes a player can practice too much and become 'bogged' down in mechanics. These past two weeks, I made a point to ignore mechanics and simply play the course. I had some great rounds and ended up making some good friends in both Indonesia and Malaysia."
The 7th Singapore Masters is held at the Laguna National Golf & Country Club on its Masters and Classic Courses, both of which Notah explored earlier this week.
"Monday I put in a nice practice round on the Masters Course at Laguna National," Notah said. "It's a beautiful venue with tight driving areas and some very long rough. After taking a look at this course there will be a premium on accuracy. I saw the Classic Course on Tuesday and spent (Wednesday) fine tuning."
Among the 12 Americans in this week's 204-player field, Notah is paired with two other Yanks for the first two rounds - Korean-American Anthony Kang of Las Vegas and Dallas resident Edward Loar. Kang played collegiate golf for the Oregon State Beavers and went on to win two Asian Tour titles, while Loar is also a 2-time winner on the Asian Tour and a former U.S. Walker Cup member who played at Oklahoma State University.
Be sure to check back with Notah.com to follow NB3 in his quest to earn a fifth Tour victory.
THIS WEEK'S BREAKDOWN
Notah's History at the Clariden Leu Singapore Masters (0-0 vs. the cut)
This is Notah's first appearance at the Clariden Leu Singapore Masters.
Course
Laguna National Golf & Country Club, Singapore
Notah's Group (Rounds 1 & 2)
Anthony Kang (Las Vegas, Nev., USA)
Edward Loar (Dallas, Texas, USA)
Notah's Tee Times (local time 13 hours ahead of ET)
Th - 11:10 am (1st tee, Masters Course)
Fr - 8:30 am (1st tee, Classic Course)
TV Times (ET)
Thu 7:30 am - 10:30 am (Golf Channel)
Fri 7:30 am - 10:30 am (Golf Channel)
Sat 7:30 am - 10:30 am (Golf Channel)
Sun 7:30 am - 10:30 am (Golf Channel)
