Notah Begay III will become the newest full-time member of the NBC/Golf Channel broadcast team at this week’s Sony Open. Begay’s brother Clint played golf at Hawaii Hilo.
Begay, 40, will be a walking course reporter during the broadcasts, which run from 2 to 5:30 p.m. each day on the Golf Channel, with rebroadcasts starting at 6 p.m. He will also contribute to the cable network’s Golf Central.
Begay was a three-time All-American at Stanford, where Tiger Woods was his teammate. He won four PGA Tour events and is one of the few players to shoot 59 in tournament competition.
Begay is the only full-blooded Native American to play on the tour. In 2005, he established the Notah Begay III Foundation, providing health and wellness education for Native American youth.
Kapalua’s Mark Rolfing is a tower reporter this week.
Three by three
A few options for those who want to walk with a threesome at Waialae the next couple days:
Dustin Johnson, Zach Johnson and defending champion Johnson Wagner go off the 10th tee at 7:50 this morning and the first tee at 12:20 p.m. Friday.
Zach won here in 2009 and Dustin just blew away the field at the Hyundai Tournament of Champions at Kapalua, becoming the third straight American winner. Before 2011, there were nine consecutive international winners.
Also fresh off the windy slopes of Kapalua Plantation, Keegan Bradley, Matt Kuchar and Mark Wilson will play right behind the Johnson Gang both days.
Kuchar’s family took a catamaran ride to Lanai in a serene ocean surrounded by whales a week ago. He finished ninth at the weather-shortened Hyundai on Tuesday at 5-under 214. Kuchar played the back nine in 11 under (31-32) the final two rounds.
Former Sony champions K.J. Choi and Vijay Singh will be joined by Webb Simpson at 12:20 p.m. today (No. 1) and 7:50 a.m. Friday (10).
Major winners Y.E. Yang, Davis Love III and Mike Weir go off the first tee at 7:40 this morning and the 10th at 12:10 a.m. Friday. Love, who turns 50 next year, finished second to Jeff Sluman in the 1999 Sony Open. He has had four more top 10s since.
Luke Guthrie, Scott Langley and Russell Henley, three of the 23 rookies who will debut this week, are playing together at 1 p.m. today (1) and 8:30 a.m. Friday (10).
Guthrie and Langley played collegiately at Illinois, and Langley won the 2010 NCAA championship. After collecting nearly $700,000 on the PGA and Web.com tours last year, Guthrie went back for the final 13 credits of his business management degree. Henley became the second amateur to win a Web.com event in 2011, one week before graduating from Georgia.
All 25 Web.com graduates are playing this week.
Dustin rising
Dustin Johnson’s win at Kapalua kicked him up 11 spots in the World Golf Ranking. Johnson is 12th, just behind Bradley. Others in the top 30 playing at Waialae are Simpson (14), Zach Johnson (25) and Carl Pettersson (30).
Champions next week
The Champions Tour kicks off next week on the Big Island. The Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai is Jan. 18-20 and is featured on the current "Emily T. Gail Show." The espnhawaii.com webcast will have tournament manager Kelly Fliear as a guest.
Mitsubishi tickets are on sale at pgatour.com/Mitsubishi or at Kona Golf. They are $15 daily or $25 for the week, when purchased in advance.
SONY OPEN TEE TIMES
TODAY
First tee
7:10 a.m.—Ken Duke, Ricky Barnes, Matt Jones. 7:20 a.m.—Ryan Palmer, Dean Wilson, Roberto Castro. 7:30 a.m.—John Mallinger, Tag Ridings, Darron Stiles. 7:40 a.m.—Y.E. Yang, Davis Love III, Mike Weir. 7:50 a.m.—Scott Piercy, Scott Stallings, Carl Pettersson. 8 a.m.—J.J. Henry, Marc Leishman, Kevin Na. 8:10 a.m.—Tim Herron, Brian Davis, Daniel Summerhays. 8:20 a.m.—Greg Owen, Chris Stroud, Will Claxton. 8:30 a.m.—Brian Stuard, Brad Fritsch, David Lingmerth. 8:40 a.m.—Andrew Svoboda, Cameron Percy, Morgan Hoffmann. 8:50 a.m.—Steve LeBrun, Robert Streb, Yuta Ikeda. 9 a.m.—Steven Bowditch, Justin Bolli, Steven Alker.
11:40 a.m.—Josh Teater, Matt Every, Nicholas Thompson. 11:50 a.m.—Boo Weekley, Graham DeLaet, Jason Kokrak. Noon—Steve Marino, Sang-Moon Bae, Bud Cauley. 12:10 p.m.—George McNeill, Stewart Cink, Wes Short, Jr. 12:20 p.m.—Webb Simpson, K.J. Choi, Vijay Singh. 12:30 p.m.—Tommy Gainey, Jonas Blixt, John Huh. 12:40 p.m.—Chez Reavie, Russ Cochran, Martin Flores. 12:50 p.m.—John Daly, Dicky Pride, Casey Wittenberg. 1 p.m.—Luke Guthrie, Scott Langley, Russell Henley. 1:10 p.m.—Erik Compton, Fabian Gomez, Hideto Tanihara. 1:20 p.m.—Andres Gonzales, D.H. Lee, Danny Lee. 1:30 p.m.—Peter Tomasulo, Lee Williams, Kevin Carll.
10th tee
7:10 a.m.—David Hearn, Brian Harman, Shane Bertsch. 7:20 a.m.—Charles Howell III, John Senden, Kevin Streelman. 7:30 a.m.—Brendon de Jonge, Jeff Overton, Harris English. 7:40 a.m.—Rory Sabbatini, Jerry Kelly, Justin Leonard. 7:50 a.m.—Zach Johnson, Dustin Johnson, Johnson Wagner. 8 a.m.—Matt Kuchar, Mark Wilson, Keegan Bradley. 8:10 a.m.—Fred Funk, Tom Gillis, Cameron Tringale. 8:20 a.m.—Jason Bohn, Jeff Maggert, Jeff Gove. 8:30 a.m.—Eric Meierdierks, Luke List, Patrick Reed. 8:40 a.m.—Billy Horschel, Derek Ernst, Mark Anderson. 8:50 a.m.—Shawn Stefani, Justin Hicks, Josh Persons. 9 a.m.—Ben Kohles, Paul Haley II, Hideki Matsuyama.
11:40 a.m.—Brian Gay, Chad Campbell, Charlie Wi. 11:50 a.m.—Bart Bryant, Michael Thompson, Colt Knost. Noon—John Rollins, Jimmy Walker, Michael Letzig. 12:10 p.m.—Ted Potter, Jr., Stephen Ames, Robert Allenby. 12:20 p.m.—Ryan Moore, Michael Bradley, Chris Kirk. 12:30 p.m.—Ben Curtis, Kyle Stanley, Tim Clark. 12:40 p.m.—Pat Perez, Joe Ogilvie, Kevin Stadler. 12:50 p.m.—Ryuji Imada, David Mathis, Richard H. Lee. 1 p.m.—Bobby Gates, Jim Herman, Donald Constable. 1:10 p.m.—Russell Knox, Alistair Presnell, Henrik Norlander. 1:20 p.m.—Jin Park, Aaron Watkins, Doug LaBelle II. 1:30 p.m.—Scott Gardiner, James Hahn, Richard Hattori.
Friday
First tee
7:10 a.m.—Brian Gay, Chad Campbell, Charlie Wi. 7:20 a.m.—Bart Bryant, Michael Thompson, Colt Knost. 7:30 a.m.—John Rollins, Jimmy Walker, Michael Letzig. 7:40 a.m.—Ted Potter, Jr., Stephen Ames, Robert Allenby. 7:50 a.m.—Ryan Moore, Michael Bradley, Chris Kirk. 8 a.m.—Ben Curtis, Kyle Stanley, Tim Clark. 8:10 a.m.—Pat Perez, Joe Ogilvie, Kevin Stadler. 8:20 a.m.—Ryuji Imada, David Mathis, Richard H. Lee. 8:30 a.m.—Bobby Gates, Jim Herman, Donald Constable. 8:40 a.m.—Russell Knox, Alistair Presnell, Henrik Norlander. 8:50 a.m.—Jin Park, Aaron Watkins, Doug LaBelle II. 9 a.m.—Scott Gardiner, James Hahn, Richard Hattori.
11:40 a.m.—David Hearn, Brian Harman, Shane Bertsch. 11:50 a.m.—Charles Howell III, John Senden, Kevin Streelman. Noon—Brendon de Jonge, Jeff Overton, Harris English. 12:10 p.m.—Rory Sabbatini, Jerry Kelly, Justin Leonard. 12:20 p.m.—Zach Johnson, Dustin Johnson, Johnson Wagner. 12:30 p.m.—Matt Kuchar, Mark Wilson, Keegan Bradley. 12:40 p.m.—Fred Funk, Tom Gillis, Cameron Tringale. 12:50 p.m.—Jason Bohn, Jeff Maggert, Jeff Gove. 1 p.m.—Eric Meierdierks, Luke List, Patrick Reed. 1:10 p.m.—Billy Horschel, Derek Ernst, Mark Anderson. 1:20 p.m.—Shawn Stefani, Justin Hicks, Josh Persons. 1:30 p.m.—Ben Kohles, Paul Haley II, Hideki Matsuyama.
10th tee
7:10 a.m.—Josh Teater, Matt Every, Nicholas Thompson. 7:20 a.m.—Boo Weekley, Graham DeLaet, Jason Kokrak. 7:30 a.m.—Steve Marino, Sang-Moon Bae, Bud Cauley. 7:40 a.m.—George McNeill, Stewart Cink, Wes Short, Jr. 7:50 a.m.—Webb Simpson, K.J. Choi, Vijay Singh. 8 a.m.—Tommy Gainey, Jonas Blixt, John Huh. 8:10 a.m.—Chez Reavie, Russ Cochran, Martin Flores. 8:20 a.m.—John Daly, Dicky Pride, Casey Wittenberg. 8:30 a.m.—Luke Guthrie, Scott Langley, Russell Henley. 8:40 a.m.—Erik Compton, Fabian Gomez, Hideto Tanihara. 8:50 a.m.—Andres Gonzales, D.H. Lee, Danny Lee. 9 a.m.—Peter Tomasulo, Lee Williams, Kevin Carll.
11:40 a.m.—Ken Duke, Ricky Barnes, Matt Jones. 11:50 a.m.—Ryan Palmer, Dean Wilson, Roberto Castro. Noon—John Mallinger, Tag Ridings, Darron Stiles. 12:10 p.m.—Y.E. Yang, Davis Love III, Mike Weir. 12:20 p.m.—Scott Piercy, Scott Stallings, Carl Pettersson. 12:30 p.m.—J.J. Henry, Marc Leishman, Kevin Na. 12:40 p.m.—Tim Herron, Brian Davis, Daniel Summerhays. 12:50 p.m.—Greg Owen, Chris Stroud, Will Claxton. 1 p.m.—Brian Stuard, Brad Fritsch, David Lingmerth. 1:10 p.m.—Andrew Svoboda, Cameron Percy, Morgan Hoffmann. 1:20 p.m.—Steve LeBrun, Robert Streb, Yuta Ikeda. 1:30 p.m.—Steven Bowditch, Justin Bolli, Steven Alker.
