Na rides a hot putter to a rare victory at Greenbrier
Last PGA Tour win was nearly seven years ago
Kevin Na rode a hot putter to halt a winless streak of nearly seven years on the PGA Tour.
Na shot a 6-under-64 for a five-stroke victory at A Military Tribute at The Greenbrier on Sunday.
The 34-year-old Na’s only previous tour win came in Las Vegas in October 2011.
“I wasn’t sure if it was going to come again. I was hoping it would — sooner than later,” Na said. “I’ve been close so many times, failed so many times.”
Starting the final round one stroke behind Harold Varner and Kelly Kraft, Na birdied six of his first 10 holes to open a big lead on the Old White TPC, and he cruised from there. The only blemish on his card was a bogey on the par-4 11th after driving into the rough.
Na finished at 19-under 261 and picked up the $1.31 million winner’s paycheck.
“My putter got hot,” Na said. “The first day the putter felt awful, and (then) it just clicked. Every time I got over the ball it felt great, and everything felt like it was going in.” Kevin Na lines up a putt on the 18th hole with his caddie during the Military Tribute PGA Tour Golf Tournament at the Greenbrier in White Sulphur Springs, W. Va., Sunday. Na finished 5 strokes ahead at 19-under-par.
Kraft shot 70 and finished second at 14 under. Brandt Snedeker (64) and Jason Kokrak (67) tied for third at 13 under. Each earned a place in the British Open as the leading four players from the top 12 not already eligible.
The only drama down the stretch was who would pick up the last spot to Carnoustie in two weeks. Sam Saunders lost out with bogeys on the 16th and 17th holes to miss by one. Varner needed to make a birdie on either No. 17 or 18 to get there, but he parred both
holes. That gave the final spot to Austin Cook.
EUROPEAN TOUR
Russell Knox of Scotland holed nearly identical putts of 40 feet on the 18th hole, first to get into a playoff, and then to beat Ryan Fox and win the Irish Open for his first European Tour victory.
Knox won for the first time in two years, most recently at the Travelers Championship during his bid to make the Ryder Cup team.
Knox closed with a 6-under 66 to set the clubhouse target at 14-under par. Fox missed an 8-foot birdie putt for the victory. In the playoff, Knox hit wedge from 131 yards to nearly the same spot on the 18th green, and his long birdie putt curled left to right and into the cup.
Fox had an 8-foot birdie putt to extend the playoff, but it caught the lip and spun away.
“Tough to describe how amazing this feels,” Knox said. “It’s why I play golf — all the practice days, all the misses, all the bad moments, all are taken care of with putts like that . ... Making two of them from almost identical positions, I mean, that’s a bit of a bonus. Unbelievable.”
Knox, who tied for second at the French Open last week, goes to No. 5 in the Race to Dubai and will get back into the top 50 in the world.
Fox, who shot a 68, earned one of three spots to the British Open in two weeks at Carnoustie. Zander Lombard of South Africa and Andy Sullivan of England earned the other two spots.
Defending champion Jon Rahm tied for fourth, while tournament host Rory McIlroy closed with a 71 and tied for 28th.
WEB.COM TOUR
Nelson Ledesma of Argentina seized control with three straight birdies at the turn, and he closed with a 5-under 67 for a two-shot victory in the Lecom Health Challenge for his first Web.com Tour victory.
Ledesma had missed eight cuts in 15 starts in his first Web.com Tour season, and his best finish was in Panama to start the season. The victory was worth $108,000 and moved him from 101st to 24th on the money list. The top 25 earn PGA Tour cards at the end of the season.
Ledesma went into the final round at Peek ‘n Peak Resort one shot behind Sebastian Munoz, who had two bogeys in the opening four holes and never caught up. Jones fell back with a bogey on the par-3 fifth, and then Ledesma birdied his final three holes on the front nine and built a threeshot lead.