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Kevin Na

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Kevin Na
Na in 2018
Personal information
Full nameKevin Sangwook Na
Born (1983-09-15) September 15, 1983 (age 41)
Seoul, South Korea[1]
Height5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)[1]
Weight167 lb (76 kg; 11.9 st)
Sporting nationality United States
 South Korea
ResidenceLas Vegas, Nevada[1]
Spouse
Julianne Na
​
(m. 2017)​
Children3
Career
Turned professional2001
Current tour(s)LIV Golf
Former tour(s)PGA Tour
Asian Tour
Professional wins9
Highest ranking19 (November 1, 2015)[2]
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour5
Asian Tour1
Korn Ferry Tour1
Other2
Best results in major championships
Masters TournamentT12: 2012, 2015, 2021
PGA ChampionshipT10: 2011
U.S. Open7th: 2016
The Open ChampionshipT22: 2016
Achievements and awards
Asian PGA Tour
Rookie of the Year		2002

Kevin Sangwook Na (Korean: 나상욱; born September 15, 1983) is a Korean American professional golfer. He was a member of the PGA Tour until June 2022, when he resigned in order to join LIV Golf. He won five tournaments on the PGA Tour between 2011 and 2021.

Early years

Born in Seoul, South Korea,[1] Na emigrated with his family to the United States when he was eight years old, settling in southern California. He left Diamond Bar High School after his junior year to play professional golf at age 17.[1][3]

Professional career

Na has played on the Asian Tour (with a win at the 2002 Volvo Masters of Asia), European Tour and PGA Tour. He got his PGA Tour card for the 2004 season. He finished third at the Southern Farm Bureau Classic and fourth at the Honda Classic. In 2005 he finished second at the FBR Open and Chrysler Classic of Tucson. He missed six months with a hand injury in 2006. In his first start back, a rehab start on the Nationwide Tour, he won the Mark Christopher Charity Classic.[4]

Na played on the PGA Tour in 2007 via a medical extension, and finished fourth at the Verizon Heritage. In 2008 he was fourth at the FBR Open and Sony Open in Hawaii. He finished third at the 2009 Players Championship and the FBR Open, fifth at the Sony Open in Hawaii, Mayakoba Golf Classic and Reno-Tahoe Open. With nine top-10 finishes and 14 top-25 finishes, he ranked in 19th place on the money list, securing his entry to the Masters Tournament and the U.S. Open in 2010 for the first time.

In the 2010 season, Na finished second at the Arnold Palmer Invitational and third at the BMW Championship. He placed 37th in season earnings.

In February 2011, Na was in contention to win his first PGA Tour title at the Northern Trust Open. He entered the final round in a tie for 2nd at −9, one stroke behind Aaron Baddeley. However a run of four bogeys in the first ten holes ended Na's chances of victory. He would eventually fight back on the back nine and a vital birdie on the par-five 17th sealed a third-place finish, behind eventual winner Baddeley and Vijay Singh.

On April 14, 2011, Na played the worst ever par-4 hole on the PGA Tour since the tour began recording hole-by-hole scores in 1983, making a 16 on the ninth hole at the Valero Texas Open. Na needed extra shots after an unplayable lie from his tee shot and was then given a two-stroke penalty after his ball hit a tree and rebounded back onto him. It was initially scored as a 15 but changed to 16 on review. Na ended up shooting an eight-over-par round of 80, which saw him shoot four-under for his other 17 holes.[5]

In August 2011, Na finished tenth at the PGA Championship with a 72-69-70-67 score card. He also finished fifth at the Bob Hope Classic and Wells Fargo Championship.

On October 1, 2011, Na apparently whiffed his tee shot on the par-4 15th hole in the third round of the Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open at TPC Summerlin in Las Vegas, missing high and to the outside of the ball. Tour officials, though, ruled Na was not intending to hit the ball and did not count the swing as a stroke, and Na finished with a 5-under 66 to remain tied for the tournament lead.[6] The following day, Na earned his first PGA Tour victory at the 211th attempt, having been on tour for eight years. He shot a final round 65 with birdies at 15, 16 and 17 to win by two strokes from Nick Watney and earn $792,000 in prize money. Na also broke the tournament scoring record of 21-under par when he finished the week at 23-under par. This victory earned Na a two-year exemption on tour.[7] He ranked 30th in season earnings.

During the 2012 PGA Tour season, Na finished fourth at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, fifth at the Phoenix Open and AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, seventh at the Players Championship and 12th at Masters Tournament.

A back injury limited Na to eight starts in early 2013. After rehabbing, he made a comeback in October in his first PGA Tour start since April with a third-place finish at the Frys.com Open. Na was given 18 starts on a medical extension, but needed only seven to remain on the PGA Tour.

In 2014 he finished second at the Memorial Tournament and Valspar Championship, third at the Frys.com Open, fourth at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, ninth at The Barclays and 12th at the U.S. Open. He finished 20th in season earnings.

Na lost in a sudden-death playoff to Emiliano Grillo at the 2016 PGA Tour season opening Frys.com Open. After both players finished at 15-under-par, Grillo won the event with a birdie on the second extra hole. Na hit his second shot to the par-five 18th off-line and was trapped behind a tree, which resulted in a bogey. This allowed Grillo to two-putt out for the victory.

At the 2016 U.S. Open at Oakmont Country Club, Na finished in 7th place after shooting 75-68-69-69 for a total of 1 over par. This is his best finish in 24 major championship appearances.

Na won his second PGA Tour event, A Military Tribute at The Greenbrier, in 2018. He carded a 6-under 64 en route to a -19 tournament score. This was his first PGA Tour win since 2011.

Na claimed his third PGA Tour win, with a four shot victory at the Charles Schwab Challenge in 2019. Na carded a 62 in the second round and ended with a final round of 66, which included four birdies in the first eight holes to finish the tournament at −13 ahead of Tony Finau.[8]

In October 2019, Na won his fourth PGA Tour title. The tournament ended on the second sudden-death playoff hole at the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open at TPC Summerlin in Las Vegas. The playoff started when Na and Patrick Cantlay ended the final group at −23. Na is now 1 for 4 in PGA Tour sudden-death playoffs.[9]

In January 2021, Na won his fifth PGA Tour event at the Sony Open in Hawaii.[10] He came from three strokes behind with six to play to claim a one-stroke victory. In August later that year, Na tied for the lead after 72 holes with five other players at the Wyndham Championship. Kevin Kisner took the title in the playoff.[11] In September 2021, Na finished third at the Tour Championship at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta, Georgia. This won him $4,000,000 in the season long FedEx Cup.[12]

In June 2022, Na announced his resignation from the PGA Tour, confirming that he would be joining the LIV Golf Invitational Series.[13]

Personal life

Na is a naturalized American citizen,[14] and lives in Las Vegas, Nevada.[1]

Na is married to Julianne Na. The couple have three children Sophia, Leo, and Logan.[15]

Professional wins (9)

PGA Tour wins (5)

No. Date Tournament Winning score To par Margin of
victory		 Runner(s)-up
1 Oct 2, 2011 Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open 67-63-66-65=261 −23 2 strokes United States Nick Watney
2 Jul 8, 2018 A Military Tribute at The Greenbrier 69-63-65-64=261 −19 5 strokes United States Kelly Kraft
3 May 26, 2019 Charles Schwab Challenge 70-62-69-66=267 −13 4 strokes United States Tony Finau
4 Oct 6, 2019 Shriners Hospitals for Children Open (2) 68-62-61-70=261 −23 Playoff United States Patrick Cantlay
5 Jan 17, 2021 Sony Open in Hawaii 67-66-61-65=259 −21 1 stroke United States Chris Kirk, Chile Joaquín Niemann

PGA Tour playoff record (1–4)

No. Year Tournament Opponent(s) Result
1 2005 Chrysler Classic of Tucson Australia Geoff Ogilvy, United States Mark Calcavecchia Ogilvy won with birdie on second extra hole
Calcavecchia eliminated by par on first hole
2 2014 Memorial Tournament Japan Hideki Matsuyama Lost to par on first extra hole
3 2015 Frys.com Open Argentina Emiliano Grillo Lost to birdie on second extra hole
4 2019 Shriners Hospitals for Children Open United States Patrick Cantlay Won with par on second extra hole
5 2021 Wyndham Championship South Africa Branden Grace, South Korea Kim Si-woo,
United States Kevin Kisner, Australia Adam Scott,
Canada Roger Sloan 		Kisner won with birdie on second extra hole

Asian PGA Tour wins (1)

No. Date Tournament Winning score To par Margin of
victory		 Runners-up
1 Dec 8, 2002 Volvo Masters of Asia 69-66-71-66=272 −16 2 strokes South Africa Craig Kamps, United States Anthony Kang,
India Arjun Singh, Scotland Simon Yates

Nationwide Tour wins (1)

No. Date Tournament Winning score To par Margin of
victory		 Runners-up
1 Oct 8, 2006 Mark Christopher Charity Classic 62-66-71-69=268 −16 3 strokes United States Jeff Quinney, United States Chris Tidland

Other wins (2)

No. Date Tournament Winning score To par Margin of
victory		 Runner(s)-up
1 Jul 28, 2002 Long Beach Open 66-64-75-63=268 −20 3 strokes United States Mike Cunning
2 Dec 12, 2021 QBE Shootout
(with United States Jason Kokrak) 		59-64-60=183 −33 1 stroke United States Sam Burns and United States Billy Horschel

Playoff record

Korean Tour playoff record (0–1)

No. Year Tournament Opponent Result
1 2012 Shinhan Donghae Open South Korea Kim Meen-whee Lost to par on first extra hole

Results in major championships

Results not in chronological order in 2020.

Tournament 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
Masters Tournament
U.S. Open
The Open Championship
PGA Championship CUT T43
Tournament 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
Masters Tournament CUT CUT T12 59 T12 T55 CUT
U.S. Open CUT CUT T29 T12 T46 7 T32
The Open Championship T27 CUT CUT T54 T58 T22 T44 T51
PGA Championship T58 T10 WD CUT CUT T22 CUT T19
Tournament 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
Masters Tournament T46 T13 T12 T14 WD
PGA Championship CUT CUT CUT T23
U.S. Open CUT CUT CUT CUT
The Open Championship NT CUT
  Top 10
  Did not play

CUT = missed the half-way cut
WD = withdrew
"T" = tied
NT = No tournament due to COVID-19 pandemic

Summary

Tournament Wins 2nd 3rd Top-5 Top-10 Top-25 Events Cuts made
Masters Tournament 0 0 0 0 0 5 12 8
PGA Championship 0 0 0 0 1 4 14 6
U.S. Open 0 0 0 0 1 2 11 5
The Open Championship 0 0 0 0 0 1 9 6
Totals 0 0 0 0 2 12 46 25
  • Most consecutive cuts made – 4 (2016 Masters – 2016 PGA)
  • Longest streak of top-10s – 1 (twice)

Results in The Players Championship

Tournament 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
The Players Championship CUT CUT T54 T3
Tournament 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
The Players Championship CUT CUT T7 T38 T6 CUT WD T46 78
Tournament 2020 2021
The Players Championship C WD
  Top 10
  Did not play

CUT = missed the halfway cut
WD = withdrew
"T" indicates a tie for a place
C = Canceled after the first round due to the COVID-19 pandemic

Results in World Golf Championships

Results not in chronological order before 2015.

Tournament 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
Championship T50 T35 T9 T35 T52 T36
Match Play R64 R64 T34 17 R16 T52 QF
Invitational T71 T63 T23 T15 T27 T31 T43
Champions T20 57 T54 T54
Tournament 2020 2021 2022
Championship T9 T11
Match Play NT1 T42 R16
Invitational T35 T23
Champions NT1 NT1 NT1

1Cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic

  Top 10
  Did not play

QF, R16, R32, R64 = Round in which player lost in match play
NT = No tournament
"T" = Tied
Note that the HSBC Champions did not become a WGC event until 2009.
Note that the Championship and Invitational were discontinued from 2022.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f "PGA Tour profile". Retrieved April 27, 2012.
  2. ^ "Week 44 2015 Ending 1 Nov 2015" (pdf). OWGR. Retrieved October 3, 2019.
  3. ^ Yoon, Peter (March 25, 2002). "Diamond Bar Rebuilds Fast With Freshmen". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved August 24, 2012.
  4. ^ Bush, John (October 8, 2006). "Na goes wire-to-wire out west". PGA Tour. Archived from the original on October 31, 2006.
  5. ^ "Kevin Na shoots 16 on a par-4 hole". ESPN. April 14, 2011. Retrieved April 15, 2011.
  6. ^ "Kevin Na Whiff Fresh Air Shot". YouTube.[dead YouTube link]
  7. ^ "Kevin Na wins in Las Vegas". ESPN. October 3, 2011. Retrieved October 19, 2011.
  8. ^ "Na cruises to win at Charles Schwab Challenge". PGA Tour. May 26, 2019. Retrieved June 8, 2019.
  9. ^ DiMeglio, Steve (October 7, 2019). "Kevin Na wins Shriners Hospitals for Children Open in playoff thriller". Golfweek. Retrieved October 7, 2019.
  10. ^ Ferguson, Doug (January 17, 2021). "Kevin Na rallies with big finish to win Sony Open". www.cbc.ca.
  11. ^ Kelly, Todd (August 15, 2021). "Kevin Kisner wins Wyndham Championship after six-way playoff". MSN.
  12. ^ "2021 FedEx Cup final results: Prize money payout, standings and how much each golfer won". Golf News Net. September 5, 2021. Retrieved September 8, 2021.
  13. ^ Schlabach, Mark (June 4, 2022). "Kevin Na resigns from PGA Tour; will participate in LIV golf series". ESPN. Retrieved June 4, 2022.
  14. ^ 2005 Nissan Open interview
  15. ^ Tremlett, Sam. "13 Things You Didn't Know About Kevin Na". Golf Monthly. Retrieved January 11, 2022.
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