Notah Begay III turned 50 on Wednesday and is preparing to embark on a second career moonlighting as a golfer on PGA Tour Champions – he’s signed up for Furyk & Friends next month in Jacksonville.
Begay won four times on the PGA Tour in a 10-month stretch in 1999 and 2000 before a back injury short-circuited his career. He made a successful transition as a TV commentator for NBC Sports and Golf Channel and has been walking the fairways with the likes of his former Stanford teammate Tiger Woods for the last decade.
Begay, who is scheduled to serve as captain of the U.S. Junior Presidents Cup this weekend in Charlotte, also has carved a niche in junior golf, creating the Notah Begay III Junior Golf Championship.
Begay was part of Stanford men’s golf national championship team in 1994, shot a 59 on the Korn Ferry Tour in 1998 and earned more than $5 million during his playing career.
He discusses the great mulligan that is the PGA Tour Champions and his eagerness to compete again, the time Tiger gave him a bad layup number and just how good Charlie Woods is – and could be – at golf.