Begay joins NBC, Golf Channel as reporter

KAPALUA, Hawaii (AP) — The next time Notah Begay is inside the ropes on the PGA Tour, he'll be holding a microphone instead of a golf club.

Begay starts this week at the Sony Open as a full-time member of the broadcast team for NBC Sports and Golf Channel. He will be a walking course reporter at Waialae Country Club.

An opening was created when Dottie Pepper retired from NBC last year to pursue projects aimed mostly at junior golf.

Begay is a Navajo, the only full-blooded American Indian to play on the PGA Tour. A former teammate of Tiger Woods at Stanford, he won four times on the PGA Tour until his career was slowed by back injuries. Begay has been contributing in the Golf Channel studio during majors the last three years.