Quick hits from q-school: Begay thrilled to begin again

LA QUINTA, Calif. -- Notah Begay III knows he put himself behind the eight-ball at the PGA TOUR National Qualifying Tournament. That's what makes earning his PGA TOUR card on Monday so satisfying.

He was a distant 95th on the leaderboard entering the final rotation of rounds on PGA West's Stadium and Nicklaus courses. He was playing opposite the leaders, as well, which meant he would face the most challenging Stadium layout on Monday when everything was on the line.

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Notah Begay needed a couple of strong closing rounds, and held up under the pressure.

So what did Begay do? The four-time PGA TOUR champ went out and shot 14 under for those crucial, pressure-packed final 36 holes to regain full his playing privileges for the first time since the 2004 season.

A round of 63 on the Nicklaus Course Sunday vaulted Begay 74 spots into a tie for 21st. He then preserved his spot among the low 25 and ties when he played in the last group on the Stadium Course Monday and closed with a 67 to finish in a tie for 11th.

"I didn't ever give up," Begay said proudly. "I didn't get off to the best start, and not having a lot of confidence with regard to my performance the previous years, it's hard to say I'm going to go out and shoot 14 under in two days. But I didn't ever think I was out of it. I certainly never, never threw the towel in and it worked out for me."

Begay, who has battled nagging back injuries since 2004, is looking forward to the opportunity to not only play a full schedule in 2009 but also to pick and choose where he opts to compete.

"I'm a very lucky man right now," Begay said. "I'm ecstatic. I'm going to go back and call my wife and soak it all in."

Begay made four birdies on the front nine to keep pace with the contenders on Monday. A birdie on the 11th hole then gave him some breathing room and he followed his lone bogey at the 15th hole with a birdie on the next to seal the deal.

"My brother (Clint), my caddy, informed me that I needed one more birdie so you got to do what you've got to do," said Begay, who actually ended up finishing one ahead of the final number. "You get on it."

GORED: Jason Gore was clearly disappointed. As he cradled that adorable, wrinkled eight-week-old English Bulldog, Brooks, on his shoulder, though, some sense of normalcy returned.

Gore had just three-putted his final hole on the Nicklaus Course, a gaffe that appeared would keep him from earning his PGA TOUR card. Instead, Gore, who closed with a solid 66 on Monday to finish at 17 under, would finish two strokes shy of the low 25 and ties.

"I played well," Gore said. "I just left myself a really difficult putt at 18. It happens. It was just fast. It really was about the best I could do. I thought it was going to break and it never broke."

After finishing 134th on the money list, the former PGA TOUR champion will probably get 20 or more starts in 2009. Gore played in 33 events last year, 27 in 2007 and 29 in '06 so he's thinking maybe it will be better to cut back and go for quality rather than quantity.

"It might be a great thing that I don't play my brains out all the time," he said. "Set my schedule a little bit different and see what happens."

If you think that Gore is satisfied, though, think again. He wanted to get his TOUR card back.

"Don't get me wrong," he said. "It means a great deal. I tried. I did my best. I made a quad early in the week and I shot 74 in the first round. So to come back and shoot 66 the last day, I thought it would be good. Even when I missed that putt on the last hole I thought 17 (under) would be good. You sit and wait. You never know."

Gore was among 15 former TOUR champions who didn't get their cards back. Also in that group were Michael Bradley, Garrett Willis, Chris Smith, Olin Browne, Neal Lancaster, Frank Lickliter II, Guy Boros, Willie Wood, Robert Damron, Carlos Franco, Robert Gamez, Joe Durant, Mark Brooks and Paul Stankowski.

In addition, none of the three Nationwide Tour grads in the field were able to improve their situation.. Spencer Levin (No. 22), Bryce Molder (No. 23) and Ricky Barnes (No. 25) had already earned TOUR cards based on their finish on the Nationwide Tour money list.

Molder came the closest, finishing 18 under and one stroke out of the low 25 and ties. He had started the final round in a tie for ninth but lost ground with a final-round 71. Levin finished in a tie for 53rd, while Barnes ended up in a tie for 125th.