2011.10.02 15:41
This is his first win in 8 years in PGA.
LAS VEGAS (AP) -- Kevin Na won the Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open on Sunday for his first PGA TOUR title, birdieing Nos. 15-17 to pull away for a two-stroke victory over Nick Watney. The 28-year-old Na closed with a 6-under 65 for a tournament-record 23-under 261 total at TPC Summlerin in the Fall Series opener. Watney, a two-time winner this year, shot a 67. Tied for the lead with Watney entering the round, Na sealed the breakthrough victory with a 42-foot birdie putt on the par-3 17th. Na and Watney both parred the par-4 18th. "I'm just very excited about my first win," said Na, who starting playing golf a year after his family moved to the United States from South Korea when he was 8. "It wasn't easy. Nick was coming right behind me. It looked like any time he was going to make a move, and I tried the best that I could to stay one step ahead of him. I think the putt on 17 basically sealed the deal for me." 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." Kevin Na holes a 42-foot birdie putt on the par-3 17th hole.Na pulled ahead with his birdie on the par-4 15th and both players birdied the par-5 16th. "Fifteen was definitely disappointing to not make birdie," Watney said. "I would love to have that bunker shot back. ... Sixteen, I played very nice. Seventeen, I hit a good shot then he made a 40-footer. That kind of stuff happens when you win. It's tough to beat. "One thing I relearned this week was how serious I was taking it, how badly I wanted to play well the last couple of months. That doesn't always translate into good golf, so this week I came here with no expectations. I took it very easy and played pretty nice." Tommy Gainey and Paul Goydos had 68s to tie for third at 18 under, and David Hearn (65), Carl Pettersson (68), Jhonattan Vegas (68), Tim Herron (69) and Spencer Levin (68) followed at 17 under. Na and Watney broke the record by two strokes in the event that switched from 90 to 72 holes in 2004. "This golf course you have to get off to a good start," said Na, who earned $792,000. "The reason why is because like all the guys out here say, 'You have to go low, and if you're not making birdies, somebody else is.' So, if you're even par through six you feel like you're two shots behind everybody, and it puts more pressure into your back nine. "I was able to get off to a great start and stay ahead of the game, and I think that was the key for me to be cruising through to the victory. The third hole, I made it off the fringe and I said, 'I'm 3 under through four; this is looking really good.'" |
2011.10.02 16:41
2011.10.02 19:42
K.J. Choi,
Y.E. Yang
And now, Kevin.
They might know by now
there are Men in Korea too,
even though Kevin is Korean-American.
2011.10.03 01:04
오랫동안 KJ 나 YE,가 아닌 Charlie Wie나 Kevin Na중에 우승을
바랐었는데 결국은 Kevin이 해냈군요.
어제는 Lions와 Tigers에 이사람은 사로잡혀서 우승장면은TV로
보지 못해서 유감입니다.
비록 PGA Major는 물론 아니고 소위 걸출한 선수들이 나오는 PGA
"A"게임은 아닐지라도 Nick Watney같은 신예중의 출중한 선수를
head to head로 제치고 우승한것은 큰 achievement 이며 나선수의
다음 단계로 비약하는 confidence booster로 생각합니다.
'시작이 반'이라고 앞으로의 PGA 에서 큰활약을 기대해보며 승리를
거둔 Kevin Na 선수에게 큰 박수를 보냅니다. 규정
It could have been an exciting game to watch as two players were so close.
Kevin was close to the winner's circle many times but had never won until yesterday.
He's officially classified as an American player.
But, yet, he's still a 1.5 generation Korean (born in Korea)
who entered PGA from Los Angeles area.