Mark Wagner
Special to ICT
When Indigenous golfers Maddison Long and Peyton Beans Factor take to the links at Manhattan University this fall, a bit of history will be made: No two Native American women have ever anchored a Division 1 collegiate golf program, until now.
Long, Coeur d’Alene and Diné, is arriving in New York with a 4.0 GPA and a tournament win after her first year at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore. She will land at Manhattan in The Bronx as a transfer sophomore.
Factor, Chickasaw, is coming in as a first year student, after helping Sequoyah High School in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, win a state championship last spring. It was her third championship ring.
Maddison said the stage was set when she learned that Factor had committed to Manhattan.
“When my mom and I heard about Beans and Manhattan,” Long told ICT, “we were excited.”
Factor shares the excitement about teaming up with Long, whom she first met at the Notah Begay III Junior Golf National Championships.
“I have a super love for Maddison,” Factor enthused. “I am so thrilled we will play together again.”
They will join Manhattan Coach Keith Prokop, who is well aware of the stakes beyond both the links and the classroom.
“I hope they realize what an honor it is,” he told ICT. “I am grateful to be able to help them along in this journey.”
‘Subtleties of the game’
Prokop feels suited to the challenges these athletes will face in golf and at school. He is a former collegiate golfer at Dominican University in New York.
“We are very aware of that pressure and we try our best to make sure that we set our student-athletes up for success, especially when they can see their final goals in our backyard everyday [in New York City],” he said.
He notes that he has a method for teaching the subtleties of the game, with a focus on both feel and mechanics. “We have a lot of mental games we play,” he said. “Testing how your brain reacts as well as what you’re feeling on a golf course, so that we can adapt and move on no matter the result. We coach with full faith and belief in ourselves.”
That will come in handy for Long and Factor, who will both be new to Big City life. Long is spending her summer on the reservation in Idaho, doing environmental work on Lake Coeur d’Alene. She was #1 in her first year at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore, and secured her first win with rounds of 77 and 79 at Cypress Point Golf Club in Virginia Beach, Virginia.
“I like the idea of being in a fast-paced environment,” she said. “It’s a city of evolution. Everyone’s chasing and building something, so it gives this kind of focused and motivating atmosphere.”
Factor is also aware of the changes ahead. Coming off a scholastic career with three state rings and a .8 handicap, how does she envision the transition from Oklahoma to The Big Apple?
“Coming from the same culture as Maddison, being so far from home, we’ll both have a sense of home,” she said. “This is huge because of who we are and how much we have overcome to play D1 golf.”
A team takes shape
Long and Factor first met at the Notah Begay III Junior Golf National Championships, run by the acclaimed Navajo professional golfer. Their friendship, as well as communication between their families, grew from there.
They both cite the NB3 Foundation, founded by Begay, as instrumental in their development as athletes.
“NB3 is what really lit the fire for Maddison,” said her mother, Kristi Daniels Long. “I loved how they instilled in the kids the rules and course etiquette. They also really taught the kids about their short game. We were thrilled when Clint Begay, Notah’s brother, started working with Maddison and the girls when they started on the NB3 Elite golf team.”
Long agrees “100 percent,” she said.
“I wouldn’t be able to play like this without NB3 Elite,” she said. “ Clint and Jason [Montoya] taught me so much about how to get around a course. How to see the angles of the holes. How to manage pressure.”
She also recalls advice from Notah Begay III.
“During one team meeting, he spoke about how you have to close your eyes and breathe deeply. Take a moment for yourself on the course,” she said. “In my win, I did that. Breathing. And to play golf rather than chase or scramble just to hold my score.”
Clint Begay described his methods for ICT.
“I try to teach these kids that there’s a big world out there,” he said. “Always be respectful to your culture and to your elders and to your people, but also understand that being educated and getting out into this world and experiencing it for yourself is also important.”
In addition to the influence of NB3, Factor cited the influence of her personal coach, Mike Gowens. She wants to inspire other Native American people.
“They don’t get seen in the golf world, especially young Native girls,” she said. “I want to help others to be able to live their true dreams and see they have a place in this field.”
‘Take the torch’
It’s too early to say if Long and Factor will join the pro ranks, as their NB3 colleague and peer Aidan Thomas is doing this year after his career at New Mexico State University. But both have been standouts at the Native American Open at Santa Ana Pueblo, a tournament Aidan Thomas won at the start of his senior year.
How does Prokop feel about having two of the nation’s top junior golfers joining in one year?
“Part of the job of being a college golf coach is to have an ear to the ground of all parts of junior golf,” he said. “I honestly cannot wait to learn more about them and all of my new student-athletes this first year.”
Prokop said Manhattan University has a top-notch faculty and a top-notch facility that will aid in the growth and development of young golfers.
“I think both . . . have an opportunity to take the torch and to run with it and inspire a lot of young women under them,” Prokop said. “If they are both able to work hard, learn, and reflect, they have a chance together to do something special for themselves and the young women behind them.”
Mark Wagner, a regular contributor to ICT, is the author of ‘Native Links, the Surprising History of Our First People in Golf,’ which was released in 2024 by Back Nine Press. He can be reached at markgwagner@charter.net