Another week on the PGA Tour, another tryout for the open chair calling golf for NBC.
Notah Begay is jumping on the revolving carousel of lead analysts for the network for this week’s 2024 Valspar Championship at Innisbrook Resort‘s Copperhead Course in Palm Harbor, Florida. The 51-year-old has done well in his role as an on-course reporter for NBC and Golf Channel since he joined the network more than a decade ago and has taken a stab at commentary in the past.
“I’m excited and nervous,” Begay said to Golf Digest. “If we go back to (Johnny Miller), he made it look so simple and spoke from a strong position of experience. (Paul Azinger) did a wonderful job with his energy, and you could tell he still really loved to watch the game of golf.”
Begay is the latest talking head to throw his hat in the ring after Azinger wasn’t re-signed for the 2024 season, joining the likes of Kevin Kisner, Brandel Chamblee, and Luke Donald. Jim “Bones” Mackay also sat in the chair during the Mexico Open on an off week caddying for Justin Thomas.
“I mean, there’s a definite pressure, but that’s what professional athletes deal with all the time,” he said. “I spent a career dealing with pressure. … It’s a different kind of pressure because you’re being critiqued and evaluated, and that’s OK. We should be scrutinized and called out when we make mistakes because we should be ready for the big moments.”
“You hate to lose at anything,” he added. “You get to the PGA Tour because you don’t like to lose. But these decisions are made in the best interest of the NBC team, so whatever decisions are made, I’ll support it 100 percent. My job at that point, if it isn’t me, is to support whoever’s in there and allow them to be the best they can possibly be.”
Known for his connections to Tiger Woods after the pair were teammates at Stanford, Begay turned pro in 1995 after the Cardinal won the NCAA Championship in 1994. He won four times on the PGA Tour from August 1999-July 2000 and then struggled with injuries and form before he joined the NBC crew in 2012.
