Na could see win coming all the way

FORT WORTH, Texas — Kevin Na always believed he could win at Colonial, so he paused to visualize his name on the wall of champions at the first tee before making another run at it.

He will get to read his name on that wall next year.

Na birdied four of the first eight holes and shot a 4-under 66 for a four-shot victory over Tony Finau on Sunday on the cozy course made famous by Ben Hogan, securing his third career PGA Tour win and second in 10 months.

“On the first tee, I saw that wall, looked at the names, right below Justin Rose,” Na said, referring to the defending champion. “And in my head, I engraved my name on it. I was just trying to visualize success before I teed off.”

Na opened with a twoshot lead and was in front by at least that many for the final 16 holes after putting his second shot inside 5 feet for birdie at the par-4 second. Na finished 13 under after wrapping it up with a birdie at 18.

The win came after Na put himself in contention with a second-round 62, one off the Colonial record. That low round was a year after tying the course record with a 61 in the final round to finish fourth.

Na, who has made 10 cuts in 11 Colonial appearances since withdrawing in the first round of his debut in 2004, had three scores of 62 or better in a span of six rounds. Then he added a pair of solid scores that were more than enough to keep anybody from getting close.

“They say this is a golf course that I’ve had the most leads in a tournament,” said Na, whopulled away despite opening with a pedestrian par 70 in difficult conditions. “So it tells you how much I like this place and how well I’ve played here.”

Local favorite Jordan Spieth’s strong putting disappeared in a 2-over 72 as the Dallas native finished eight shots back to remain without a victory since his third major title at the 2017 British Open.

Jim Furyk’s hopes faded when the 2003 U.S. Open champion went in the water for double bogey at the par-3 13th on the way to a 73.