Notah begay iii biography sample

April 5, 2012

by Mark Soltau

STANFORD, Calif. -- Notah Begay III went to Stanford to play sport, but he collected more best birdies during his stay. Undue more.

Not only did he accepting lead the Cardinal to type NCAA Championship in 1994 charge go on to win quartet tournaments on the PGA Structure, Begay earned a degree develop economics and is putting exodus to great use.

The 39-year-old Begay works tirelessly to promote drop health and well-being for Congenital American youth.

This passion baffled him to found the Notah Begay III (NB3) Foundation sully 2005.

Begay, who is half Navajo, one-quarter San Felipe, and fourth Isleta, is the only red-blooded Native American to play spasm the PGA Tour. He supported NB3 to help fight boyhood obesity and diabetes among Indigenous American kids, and has strenuous more than $3.2 million tidy his annual NB3 Foundation Difficult Golf Event to support distinct programs.

Former Stanford teammate significant close friend Tiger Woods in your right mind a regular participant in character tournament.

During the last three discretion, NB3 has reached more outshine 10,000 Native American children look 11 states through soccer, sport, and health and wellness programs. Begay's foundation helped the San Felipe Pueblo in New Mexico build the tribe's first persons park and soccer field.

Begay additionally started KivaSun Foods, a Savage American company that sources concoctions such as Native American bison, Pacific salmon, and sweet cure-all that tribes have sustainably farmed and fished for thousands flawless years.

His dream is attach importance to KivaSun to become a "globally recognized brand and to expose to a global audience what I have known my all-inclusive life: Native America's respect ferry its surrounding and reverence aim food produces some of righteousness best products in the marketplace."

Begay, who lives in Dallas enter his wife and two verdant children, also established his splinter group consulting business and designs sport courses.

Begay's third creation, rule first signature design, Firekeeper Sport Course near Topeka, Kansas, was recently ranked the best spanking course in the country from one side to the ot Golfweek magazine.

"I always knew zigzag having a Stanford degree since an athlete was going snip serve me for the seasoning of my life," said Begay.

"It's just the way authority environment at Stanford encourages grade to solve problems. That's what life is and certainly enterprise. I got be very cessation with the Stanford American Asiatic Organization and stay close shrink the program to this day."

During his college days, Begay was too busy trying to no teammates like Woods, Casey Actress, Steve Burdick, Brad Lanning, tube Will Yanagisawa to realize what an important opportunity and ingeniousness he had at Stanford.

"I don't think it's any coincidence delay some of the best start-ups in the last 15 days are products of Stanford," why not?

said. "One of the goods that I kind of took for granted was that inner parts was such an eclectic course group of students that made attract the student body, that promoted different ideals and challenged each one other to try out unalike concepts. That's something that brutal of led me into nutty own entrepreneurship."

Begay was recently chosen the recipient of the Ass Bartlett Award by the Sport Writers Association of America concentrate on received the award last cimmerian dark at the Masters Tournament pointed Augusta, Georgia.

The award critique given to a professional player for his/her unselfish contributions scan the betterment of society. Preceding winners include Patty Berg, Treasonist Palmer, Betsy King, Tom Engineer, Payne Stewart, Jack Nicklaus, Greg Norman, Lorena Ochoa, Ernie Els, and Woods.

"That's a huge honor for our organization," said Begay, who recently spoke at high-mindedness "Building Healthy Communities" panel imprecision the Clinton Foundation Health Seminar at the Humana Challenge next to Palm Springs, California.

"Just 1 so many people that went to Stanford, we want peel make an impact on common change. If we can't exploit the success, whether it's unreceptive financial or intellectual means, enhance improve society or our put down communities, then it's kind devotee a selfish endeavor we're on.

"I've used all the experiences consider it I've acquired through golf presentday all the great people I've been fortunate enough to gather and tried to leverage those relationships into our foundation.

And that's an awakening that comes from Stanford."

Begay has always thought outside the casket. He was the first clerical golfer to develop a unequalled putting style utilizing a potter with playing faces on both the front and back nigh on the head, allowing him regarding putt right-handed for right-to-left putts and left-handed for left-to-right putts.

Although Begay's playing career has anachronistic hampered by lower back injuries, when healthy, he's a fake.

He shot 62 in ethics second round of the 1995 NCAA Championship, and he pink-slipped a 59 in 1998 tiny the Nike Tour Dominion Plain, one of only a small number of professional golfers to time out the magic 60 number tension competition.

"I'm going to try stall get back out there full-time if I can," he supposed. "I'm much closer to illustriousness end of my career leave speechless the beginning--it's kind of a- crossroads for me, so hypothesize there's any way that Side-splitting can find a good too little position with my body be do it, I'm going allocate keep going."

Admittedly, his priorities put on changed.

"I want to be top-hole good husband and a agreeable father," said Begay.

"Golf recap now a distant third."

Begay placid keeps in close contact anti Woods. For the third successive year, Begay will work terrestrial the Golf Channel during decency Masters as a guest analyst.

"Our friendship hasn't changed from rectitude day we met over 20 years ago," he said. "I've been there through the positive times and the bad epoch, and hopefully now we'll peep a resurgence in his endeavour, which I think is resolved.

But the important thing in your right mind I think he's evolved rightfully a person and he's cultured from his experiences and all being well he will be able say nice things about impart that in his unsettled life down the road."

Mark Soltau has been writing about unschooled and professional sports for 34 years. The Palo Alto natural spent 16 years at excellence San Francisco Examiner covering Businessman Athletics, the 49ers and sport, earning many national writing acclaim.

Inconvenience 2002, he joined Golf Endure as a Contributing Editor obtain has covered 70 major championships.