Begay Recovering from Heart Attack


One of Tiger Woods' best friends, Notah Begay, suffered a heart attack last week in Dallas. The 41-year-old Begay, who accrued four wins on the PGA Tour before moving to the broadcast booth, now works for Golf Channel, which revealed the story on Tuesday.

Begay was taken last Thursday to Methodist Hospital in Dallas, where a stent was inserted to unblock his right coronary artery. The procedure was done by Dr. Mark Jenkins.

Begay's family has a history of heart disease. He's expected to make a full recovery but will be off the network while recovering.

"I'm extremely grateful for the expert care I received from Dr. Jenkins and his staff," Begay said in a statement. "I anticipate a full recovery and feel lucky to be at home resting with my family.

"I appreciate the outpouring of well wishes I've received from family, friends and fans and I will be back covering golf once I'm fully recovered."

Begay and Woods became friends when both attended Stanford. The two led the Cardinal golf team to the NCAA title in 1994. Begay was a three-time All-American at Stanford and graduated with an Economics degree.

Begay is the creator of the Notah Begay III Foundation, which supports health and wellness programs for Native American youth.

His company, NB3 Consulting, has a golf-architecture element that resulted in Begay's designing Sequoyah National in North Carolina and Firekeeper Golf Course in Kansas. Begay also designed the new 18-hole Sewailo course, an amenity for the Pascua Yaqui Tribe's Casino Del Sol Resort in Tucson, Ariz.