Notah Begay III defends Tiger

ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) - Albuquerque native Notah Begay III was front and center as Tiger Woods apologized to the world for cheating on his wife on Friday.

The professional golfer from New Mexico was among a handful of people handpicked by Woods to sit in the room as he read his statement.

"I wish him well and just wanted to tell him that I support him through the good and the bad," Begay said. "I think he's taking some real good steps to try to address his issues."

Begay said that from his viewpoint Woods appeared to be trying to survive the scrutiny of his mistakes. He said any criticism of Woods for only reading a prepared statement is not fair.

"You gotta look at what he said," Begay said. "I know that he was emotional and it was a heartfelt, sincere apology."

Since the statement on Friday morning, Begay has been bombarded with calls from magazines and the major networks looking for his unique insight. He says he's taking those calls out of loyalty.

"You gotta back up your friends," Begay said. "I try to do the best I can and be a good friend."

Begay and Woods were roommates at Stanford. Begay was also the best man at Woods' wedding.

The Albuquerque native dropped out of a tournament in Mexico to be in Florida for Woods' public apology.