Na chips in on last hole for 62, 1-shot lead at Colonial
Kevin Na stood over his ball after taking a drop in the rough beside the ninth green following two wayward shots, on his final hole of the day and with a share of the lead in the Fort Worth Invitational at Colonial.
As Na looked toward the hole more than 90 feet away, he saw the huge ridge going through the middle of the green. He then noticed the caddie of one of his playing partners move a bag from behind the green.
“Because I can chip it over the right down the other side,” Na said.
Instead, Na chipped in for an incredible birdie to wrap up an 8-under 62. That gave him a one-stroke lead over Charley Hoffman, who also had a bogey-free round Thursday. Jhonattan Vegas, Emiliano Grillo, Andrew Putnam and Beau Hossler all shot 64.
This is the sixth time Na has had a first-round lead, his third at Colonial. Na’s best finish at Hogan’s Alley was a tie for seventh in 2007, and his only PGA Tour victory came seven years ago in Las Vegas.
Sixty of the 121 players were under par, and another 16 shot 70. Jordan Spieth, the No. 3 player in the world, was at 1-under 69 and defending Colonial champion Kevin Kisner shot 72.
Champions: Nevada club professional Stuart Smith admitted sleeping on the lead of the biggest tournament available to him might be a problem.
“I can’t say, ‘Oh, it won’t bother me.’ But to me, it’s fun,” Smith said after shooting a 5-under 66 for a share of the first-round lead in the Senior PGA Championship in Benton Harbor, Mich.
Smith closed his morning round with a double bogey on the par-4 18th, and Scott McCarron, Tim Petrovic, Wes Short Jr., Barry Lane and Peter Lonard matched the 66 in the afternoon.
One of 41 club pros in the field at Harbor Shores for the senior major, Smith is the director of golf at Somersett Country Club in Reno.
European Tour: Rory McIlroy walked off the 18th green in disgruntled fashion, shaking his head and looking down at the ground. Shooting a 5-under 67 at Wentworth can rarely have felt so unsatisfactory.
The four-time major winner pushed his approach shot from the middle of the fairway into the overhanging trees at the par-5 last, saw his chip clip the flag pole, then missed a 3-foot putt for birdie for a disappointing end to his first round at the BMW PGA Championship in Virginia Water, England.
McIlroy, two shots off the lead held by Lucas Bjerregaard (65). is playing the European Tour’s flagship event for the first time since 2015. He won it in 2014, the year he won the British Open and the PGA Championship — his last major victories.
LPGA Tour: Moriya Jutanugarn , Caroline Masson, Danielle Kang and Amy Olson shot 6-under 66 to share the first-round lead in the Volvik Championship.
Jessica Korda, Minjee Lee, Nasa Hataoka, Lindy Duncan, Morgan Pressel, Megan Khang and Jodi Ewart Shadoff were a stroke back at 67 at Travis Pointe in Ann Arbor, Mich. Ariya Jutanugarn, the winner last week in Virginia, opened with a 69.