The opening nine was a trip for Kevin Na who is looking to back up his co-best Masters finish in 2021. Finishing in a tie for 12th place last year, the American has a great opportunity to improve on said finish with 54-holes to go.
Na’s opening saw him make only two birdies against four bogeys. Turning in 2-over, the 38-year-old found a different gear on the closing nine and played mistake-free golf coming home. Carding three birdies against zero bogeys, Na signed for an opening 1-under 71 on Thursday. When asked to describe his play, Na said, “I played pretty well on the back nine. I played really solid on the back. Front nine made too many mistakes. I think the biggest mistake I made was on the par-three 6. I had a 12-footer downhill, and just got a little careless and hit it three and a half feet, almost four feet by and missed it coming back. You can’t do that out here. It really hurts your momentum. Making a turn at 2-over, I told myself there are a couple of par fives. Stay in it. It’s playing difficult. I played really solid. I was able to make a few birdies, and on 18 it was a bonus.” With difficult conditions looming for the second round, Na added, “Look, it’s going to be more difficult tomorrow. It’s going to separate the guys playing well and who is not. Short game and putting is going to be extremely important, but I’ll tell you what, I think even par tomorrow -- if it does what they’re saying it’s going to do, I think even par is going to be an unbelievable score.” Find Na’s full transcript at the link below.