Tiger Woods, right, talks to golfer Notah Begay after Woods made a statement at the Sawgrass Players Club, Friday, Feb. 19, 2010, in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Joe Skipper, Pool)
As we reported, here, Navajo golfer Notah Begay III was in the front row this morning when Tiger Woods issued his widely watched apology for his numerous infidelities, and talked about his hard road to recovery. (See video of that apology, below)
As this Hartford (Conn.) Courant blog post notes, Begay has had his own public struggles, in his case, with alcoholism.
Begay tells the Naples (Fla.) Daily News, here, that “I was emotional and got a little choked up. Any time you see a good friend kind of suffering and taking on a tremendous amount of responsibility and having to be held accountable for actions that nobody would condone or approve, but at the same time it’s a matter that should be handled privately between him and his wife.”
The two men hugged after Woods’ statement. They’ve been friends since their days together at Stanford, and collaborate on a golf tournament (see previous post, with video of them together, here) – Notah Begay III (FSY) Foundation Challenge skins tournament to benefit Native youth.
Woods won that tournament last year, helping to raise $750,000 for Native youth, before all of the trouble started.
Begay and Woods in happier times. (Kevin Rivoli/AP)
Tiger Woods’ good friend, Navajo golfer Notah Begay III, was in the front row as his friend apologized for his well-publicized infidelities just minutes ago. “I think Tiger really wants some friends there,” Boston’s WEEI radio commentator Brad Faxon tells NBC, here.
After his long, somber apology, Woods hugged Begay, who was his teammate at Stanford.
The two collaborate on a golf tournament (see previous post, with video of them together, here) – Notah Begay III (FSY) Foundation Challenge skins tournament to benefit Native youth. Woods won that tournament last year, helping to raise $750,000 for Native youth, before all of the trouble started.
