'We can do big things': How Notah Begay III's inaugural NB3 Matchplay golf event came to be

High level college golf on a demanding course. Shots of balloons soaring high over the desert. Images of the bosque alive with fall colors. A national broadcast that belongs entirely to New Mexico, and New Mexico only.

All of this Notah Begay III expects from the NB3 Matchplay.

The Albuquerque native and former PGA Tour professional shared his vision Thursday for the inaugural NB3 Matchplay, a collegiate invitational featuring host New Mexico, New Mexico State, Stanford and Texas. Set for a live Golf Channel broadcast on Oct. 8 and Oct. 9 — balloon fiesta week — the round robin match play event will pit all four school’s men’s and women’s programs against each other over two days at Twin Warriors Golf Club in Santa Ana Pueblo.

A portion of the proceeds from the tournament, the first televised event at Twin Warriors, will go to the NB3 Foundation, Begay’s nonprofit dedicated to improving the welfare of Native American children around the country. October’s event, however, is unlike any previous events the foundation has hosted or sponsored.

“Everybody involved understands, I think, just how big of a success this could be on a variety of fronts,” Begay said during Thursday’s press conference at Twin Warriors.

The initial concept of the NB3, Begay said, had been formulating in his head for the last five or six years as he looked to combine his broadcasting, golf and philanthropy endeavors with his “critical” priorities, “which is the state of New Mexico, businesses in tribal communities and of course, Native American youth and all youth in this state.”

The exploration of whether such an event could happen, however, was a more recent development. Since all college events need a host university, Begay said he first called UNM Athletic Director Eddie Nuñez in early spring of last year to see if the school would be willing to serve in that role.

“I said look, it’s just all sort of theory now,” Begay added. “And he’s like, ‘whatever it is, however we can help, the university’s behind it.’”

With UNM’s blessing, Begay worked to garner verbal commitments from other programs, noting that Texas men’s golf coach and New Mexico native John Fields served as one of the event’s biggest supporters. But nothing was close to certain until Begay reached out to the leadership of the Pueblo of Santa Ana, securing a blessing that signaled “all systems go” for the event.

From there, Begay opened discussions with the Golf Channel on how the tournament could meet their “brand standards” in terms of course selection and format; founded his own production company, NB3 Productions, to produce the broadcast; contacted Santa Ana Golf Club General Manager and Director of Golf Derek Gutierrez to see if Twin Warriors was interested in hosting (only to receive a quick yes); and set to shoring up the “little details,” such as scheduling the tournament to coincide with the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta.

“Which logistically, is a bit of a nightmare,” Begay said. “But the benefits in terms of camera shot, in terms of storytelling around this community and our state are going to be second to none. It’s almost going to be like a national broadcast of the international balloon fiesta, because we’re going to have shots from the balloon park, but also broader, wider shots coming from the golf course.”

Begay’s hope is that those two days in October end up being about more than just golf.

There’s a tentative plan for local students interested in or studying broadcast television to help work the event, “because it will be all state of the art, top of the line broadcast equipment sitting in the parking lot here at Twin Warriors.”

It’s also a chance, he feels, to tell stories in ways they aren’t always told. With Navajo, Isleta and San Felipe tribal heritage, Begay wants to use the broadcast and tournament to let tribes — particularly the Pueblo of Santa Ana — tell their stories directly.

“Because it’s always been historians and churches and governments that have told our story,” he added. “And it’s time for us to step up and be forthcoming with who we are and what we stand for.”

More than anything, the hope is that it’s exactly what he envisioned. Brilliant golf. Balloons in the sky. A broadcast showcasing not only the state, but the best of it, too.

“I think that, so many times in this state I hear through the various media outlets what we’re not, and what we can’t do in New Mexico,” he said. “And I refuse to buy in to that, I refuse to give in to that. I want to demonstrate to our kids in this state, to people around the state that we are capable and that we can do big things.

“And this is a big thing.”