Columnist Victoria Sun: Local teaching pro mystified by ex-student Begay’s actions

Victoria Sun

Wednesday, Aug. 2, 2000 | 1:48 a.m.

Victoria Sun's golf column appears Wednesday. Reach her at 259-4078 or victoria@lasvegassun.com

Before Notah Begay III ever thought about playing golf, and long before he began racking up victories on the PGA Tour, he was busy conquering the high-tech world of arcade games.

At 9, Begay's game of choice was the venerable Dr. Doo.

As Leo VanWart tells it, Begay spent numerous hours mastering the video game that was in the snack shop of the Ladera Golf Course.

That's why the Las Vegas transplant, then an assistant teaching pro at the Albuquerque, N.M., course, wanted to teach Begay how to play golf.

VanWart recalls walking by the video game every day and seeing the initials "NB."

"One morning I came in, and I saw him standing there at 7:30 in the morning," VanWart said. "At 11 or 12, he was still playing it.

"I asked, 'How much money did you put into this video game? You've been here for hours.' He answered 'one,' then pushed a button to show me a list of all the records set on the game, and there were his initials 10 times.

"That's when I told him he needed to take up golf and quit playing video games."

For some time VanWart, now the director of golf at the Sunrise Vista Golf Course at Nellis Air Force Base, said he was searching for a junior to mold into a champion. Taking into account Begay's determination when playing the video game, VanWart figured Begay could be a successful golfer if he would be willing to put in the same amount of work and effort.

So after his initial meeting with Begay, the golfer's father, Notah Begay II, called VanWart and asked what the next step was to getting his son into the sport. VanWart enrolled Notah and his brother Clint in a golfing clinic.

By the time it was over, Notah was hooked.

VanWart agreed to give Notah private lessons in return for a percentage of his winnings on the PGA Tour, which caused Notah's father to chuckle. But VanWart wasn't joking.

"There wasn't anything outstanding about him when he first took up golf," VanWart remembered. "It was more like he hung around after class to ask questions.

"I kept on after the class to help him. He would sit and watch private lessons and I would use another student as an example and he would absorb everything."

So why did VanWart agree to donate his time teaching Begay when he could have billed another student?

"I was trying to make it through the ranks as a golf instructor," VanWart said. "I found out what would make a person a credited instructor was based on who they had taught.

"I knew what it would take to build a champion. I wanted to prove to myself that I could do it because I was convinced that I knew what it took."

VanWart said he has worked with Notah for 17 years. In 1994, VanWart left for Okinawa, Japan, to serve in the Air Force.

VanWart said Begay flew over to work with him, but the relationship became strained because of the distance.

"Our falling out came over a swing change," VanWart said. "Because I was in Okinawa and he was in the states, he thought I was changing more than I was.

"He didn't have me there to guide him through, to show him that it was a minor correction and I think he began to resent that."

To this day, however, Begay has given little if any credit to VanWart and VanWart insists he has never received a penny of Begay's earnings.

VanWart moved here last March and seems more puzzled than bitter about the situation.

"I asked him why he has never acknowledged my help and he has said, 'The press writes what they want to write,' " VanWart said. "I've actually kind of looked at it, like what becomes of people and how they become uprooted when they get celebrity status.

"I find myself continually reading different articles and I think that's not what happened. I found him, took him under my wing and gave him the tools.

"He didn't grow up on a reservation with no running water and deer and rabbits picking up balls for him. But then, I guess he's right in a certain respect. What makes a better story? That he did it all himself, or that he had help?"

If Annika Sorenstam isn't a beer drinker already, she may have a newfound favorite after this weekend. Sorenstam will try to win her fourth consecutive Michelob Light Classic starting Friday at the Fox Run Golf Club in St. Louis. Should she do it, Sorenstam will join Laura Davies as the only two players in history to win a tournament four consecutive years. And she'll take home $120,000. Cheers. ...

Happy birthday to Moira Dunn, celebrating her 29th today. Dunn's best finish this year has been a tie for third at the Philips Invitational. ...

James was originally asked to step down as captain and be relegated to assistant captain along with Ian Woosnam.

On a lighter note, Faldo suggested that the Ryder Cup competition needs to loosen up on both sides.

"(Americans) should have (comedian) Robin Williams (as captain)," Faldo said. "And we should pick a similar guy. We'd have some fun then."