Na Resists Urge To Whiff, Still Wins
I have to say, listening to Kevin Na berate a security guard on Wednesday at Las Vegas did not have me running to the Caesar's sportsbook to plunk down $20 on the slowpoke to win. But clearly the incident didn't hurt the turtle from overcoming himself or his desire to take his sweet time, as he prevailed in the Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospital For Children.
Interestingly, he should have followed up Saturday's non-whiff whiff with another non-whiff whiff, but he refused to non-whiff despite not feeling right over the ball:
The winner had five birdies and a bogey on the front nine to reach 21 under. He parred the first four holes on the back nine, then dropped a stroke on the par-3 14th to fall into a tie with Watney.
"I hit a terrible shot on 14," Na said. "I should have backed off. I always back off, but I felt, 'I'm going to hit this.' And I hit a terrible shot and made bogey.
"To bounce back after that bogey, to hit that chip to 3 feet - I had a great chip from down there - I was able to relax a little bit. Then I had a great two-putt for birdie on the next hole. It gave me a one-shot lead. I told myself par, par, you're going to win this golf tournament."
Na pulled ahead with his birdie on the par-4 15th and both players birdied the par-5 16th.
Reader Comments (18)
Pretty brutal commentary there. Then they cut to Brandel & Terry for more on that exact topic and GC cuts away.
What is the world coming to???
Congrats to the whiffapotamus.
Hopefully the one and only time we ever see this guy in the winner's circle
Na's career development is eerily tracking that of Bill Haas. Late last year Haas picked off the Viking Classic which really set him off to the races.and allowed him to go into the Tour Championship in 25th place, perfectly poised to dominate the The Pillow Fight at East Lake. It is looking like Kevin Na is setting himself up for a similar run.
Now I should point out that Na did not win the Hope at 30-under earlier this year, but he did shoot 24-under for 5th, that's almost as good. Offsetting that, Kevin Na does have a top-10 in a major, Bill Haas still doesn't.
I'm expecting big things from Kevin Na going forward, might just be a Prez Cup mainstay.
When.Was.The.Last.Time.The.PGA.Tour.Penalized.Someone.A.Stroke.For.Slow.Play? (hint: a current tour official got the penalty)
Hoey beat everyone that mattered who was playing in a tournament yesterday at the Home of Golf! And you call yourself golfers ...
:-)
Bottom line, I don't see any chance of material improvement anytime in the foreseeable future.
Seems to me that about 90% of them are pretty darn slow...Na just happens to be the flavor of the week.