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Column: Bad back leads golfer Begay to good things
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Filed Under: Sports

"Notah Begay III was once a PGA Tour phenom.

He won four PGA events in two years, becoming the first American Indian to win on the PGA Tour.

He was a smart and engaging. A fresh face on tour. And he was a friend of Tiger Woods.

Begay's success was short-lived. A debilitating back injury rendered his golf swing essentially useless for nearly four years.

It was the best thing that could've happened. Not for him, but for some Native American children on Indian reservations.

Begay became a philanthropist when he started the NotahBegay III Foundation in 2005. The organization helps improve health and wellness of Native American children on Indian reservations nationwide.

Begay's foundation will receive national exposure Tuesday when he debuts the NB3 Challenge, a skins-game format with Vijay Singh, Camilo Villegas, Mike Weir, Stewart Cink and Begay. All proceeds from the $500,000event at the Turning Stone Resort in New York benefit Begay's foundation. Woods committed to the event, but was forced to withdraw because he's recovering from knee surgery.

"If it wasn't for the back injury, this thing never would've gotten off the ground," Begay said during a recent phone interview. "Between the years of '02 and '06, I had a lot of free time. I spent it in native communities. That's where I saw many of these kids after school just sitting around on the couch or on the bench outside. They were doing nothing. Doing absolutely nothing."

Get the Story:
Jill Painter: Begay's bad back begets good thing (The Los Angeles Daily News 8/20)