Begay takes lead position

JULY 13, 2000

Notah Begay III, the 27-year-old Pueblo / Navajo golfer from New Mexico, is on a roll.

After winning two PGA tournaments in the states, he made a strong showing on Wednesday at the Loch Lomond International tournament in Glasgow, Scotland. He shot a 6-under-par 65 in the first round, giving him the lead position along with challenger Retief Goosen of South Africa.

Begay had an eagle at the 505-yard third hole and birdies at the second, fifth, seventh and ninth. He had birdies at the 12th and 13th but bogeyed the 18th.

Begay's showing comes after winning both the Greater Hartford Open earlier this month and the St. Jude Classic in June. He's the only player to win consecutive tournaments this year since Tiger Woods won three last season.

Woods is also overseas this week, resting up before the 129th British Open to be held in St. Andrews next week. Begay hopes to qualify for the event and a winning the Loch Lomond will definitely put him there.

Begay and Woods share a long history. Both attended Stanford University in California and have competed against each other as well as played together for years.

Whether or not Begay will hold onto the lead depends on the upcoming rounds of play. There's still three more days left in the Loch Lomond and the big question on everyone's minds is, Will Begay do it again?

Even if he doesn't, Begay certainly will return home richer. With over $1 million in winnings after 17 events, Begay is ranked 12th on the PGA Tour's Top Money Leaders.

Related Stories:
Begay wins another round (Sports 7/3)
Begay wins PGA tournament (Sports 06/26)
Begay happy with performance (Sports 06/20)
Begay tries to improve (Sports 06/14)

Relevant Links from PGATour.Com:
Standard Life Loch Lomond first-round scores
The British Open
Canon Greater Hartford Open final scores and earnings
Final scores and earnings FedEx St. Jude Classic
Stats and Bio
Q&A