SAN MARTIN, Calif. – Now that he has a taste of what it is like to win on the PGA Tour, Kevin Na is hungry for another title at the Frys.com Open. Starting hot but cooling off down the backstretch of the round, Na fired a 3-under 68 to sit a shot back of co-leaders Brendan Steele and Briny Baird.
The only way to describe the round is how Na termed it afterward.
‘Oh, wow, that was a crazy round I had today. I was hoping for nice and just a low-key round, a few birdies here and there and not many bogeys, and man, it was a roller coaster for me today,’ he said. ‘It takes more out of you when you play a round like today.’
Starting on the 10th, Na made four consecutive birdies from 12 through 15. After going out in 33, Na lost momentum on the second nine. Making three bogeys in five holes, Na managed to birdie his closing par-5 to post 68.
Na attributed the change in momentum to being put on the clock by Tour officials for slow play on his 13th hole – a situation not too uncommon for Na.
‘I was going great. And then we got on the clock [on the fourth hole], and I had a 3 ½-footer. I hit a good putt. I felt like I was a little rushed, and I hit a good putt, and it kind of wobbled on me and horse-shoed, and that really threw me off. I made two more bogeys after that,’ he said.
Na talked about a common theme for the players on Thursday at CordeValle – the weather – saying the rain and cold reminded him of the old Clambake.
‘It feels like Pebble Beach out here,” he said, “in the beginning of the year. So it’s really tough, with a little rain coming on and off.’
