The Game that Changed it All

A young Notah Begay III (‘90) accompanies his father to one of his “nine hole league” games on a Thursday afternoon. He and his brother, Clint, went weekly with their dad. Notah says these are his first memories of the game that would shape much of the rest of his life.

Mr. Begay always knew he’d play sports professionally, and it was totally possible with his killer athletic ability. During his time at the Academy, he played basketball and soccer as well as golf. He quips that basketball as a career would “never work out for him,” as he was under six feet tall, and soccer “wasn’t all that appealing” at the time he was choosing his path. So, he felt he was “good enough” at golf to get him through college. He set his sights on going pro in middle school and “never took no for an answer” after that.

“Good enough” might be an understatement. He rose to be the #2 golfer in the nation in his high school years, and was awarded with the New Mexico Athlete of the Year award as a senior.

He attended Stanford and majored in economics. He played for their golf team alongside Tiger Woods. Every game he played led up to him winning four PGA tournaments. It was at a PGA event that he met his future financial manager, who was assigned to be his group’s standard bearer. Mr. Begay explained that each day, the candidates drew numbers out of a bin, and this young man was assigned to his group three days in a row, so he introduced himself. “That’s statistically impossible,” he said. The young man explained he was a fan of his, and they developed a friendship. He caddied for Notah for a week on a PGA tour, which was one of his dreams.

It hasn’t all been positive, though. Notah Begay is one of the incredibly few Native American golfers to qualify for PGA events, let alone win four times. He says, “racism, prejudice, stereotypes” are something that all minority athletes face, “regardless of what sport or school or social setting that they’re placed in”.  He combats racism by educating, and showing people the truth and beauty of Native culture.

Looking back on his time at Albuquerque Academy, Notah Begay says he’s “still coming around” to some of the material he was presented with. He is thankful for his education and opportunities from the school. He reminds high school athletes to appreciate their teammates. Furthermore, he says to enjoy your sports while possible. Everyone’s career has to end, so “spending time with a big ego… is a waste of time.” Years later, he still feels “very lucky to have had the chance to be a part of it [Academy]”.