Kevin Na wins The Greenbrier
The 34-year-old finished five clear of Kelly Kraft
Kevin Na fired a closing round of 64 to win The Greenbrier at The Old White TPC by five shots from fellow American Kelly Kraft.
Kevin Na wins The Greenbrier
Kevin Na secured his second PGA Tour victory with an impressive final round of 64 in The Greenbrier. The win came nearly seven years after he claimed his first title on the circuit in Las Vegas back in October 2011.
Na started Sunday's round one stroke behind co-leaders Harold Varner and Kelly Kraft. But the 34-year-old birdied six of his first 10 holes to open a big lead on the Old White TPC, and he cruised home from there. The only error he made was a bogey on the par-4 11th after driving into the rough.
Na set a clubhouse total of 19-umder-par that nobody playing behind was able to match. With the win, he’s climbed to 18th on the FedEx Cup standings. Na had notched up 36 top-10 finishes on the PGA Tour since his last victory in 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."
Although Na won at a canter, there was a tense finish on Sunday to see who would earn a spot in The Open Championship at Carnoustie. Na had already qualified so the places went to those finishing behind him who hadn’t yet earned a place. Harold Varner III, who had led through 54 holes, needed a birdie on either the 17th or 18th holes to make it, but he parred both. In the end, Kelly Kraft, Jason Kokrak, Brandt Snedeker and Austin Cook took the spots.
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Kelly Kraft finished the week in second place and had to accept he was second best on the day to Na.
"Obviously, I would have loved to win after leading coming into today, but, you know, sometimes you run into a guy that makes a lot of putts," he said.
Brandt Snedeker closed with a superb 64 to climb the board, end the week in a tie for third and earn a spot in The Open Championship. It was just his second top-10 finish on the season on the PGA Tour.
“It’s been a tough year for me, just not playing up to where I think I'm capable of,” Snedeker said. “Putting the work in, knowing I'm working as hard, if not harder, than I ever have. So I knew this was coming, it's just hard to see the forest through the trees sometimes.”
A Military Tribute at The Greenbrier The Old White TPC, White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia 5-8 July Purse: $7,300,000 Par: 70
1 Kevin Na (USA) 69 63 65 64 261 $1,314,000 2 Kelly Kraft (USA) 64 63 69 70 266 $788,400 T3 Jason Kokrak (USA) 65 64 71 67 267 $423,400 T3 Brandt Snedeker (USA) 66 67 70 64 267 $423,400 T5 Austin Cook (USA) 66 66 70 66 268 $247,470 T5 Joel Dahmen (USA) 67 65 67 69 268 $247,470 T5 Joaquin Niemann (Chi) 63 69 72 64 268 $247,470 T5 Sam Saunders (USA) 68 63 67 70 268 $247,470 T5 Harold Varner III (USA) 66 64 66 72 268 $247,470 10 Russell Henley (USA) 68 69 69 63 269 $197,100
Note: Player score in bold signifies Titleist ball usage
Fergus is Golf Monthly's resident expert on the history of the game and has written extensively on that subject. He is a golf obsessive and 1-handicapper. Growing up in the North East of Scotland, golf runs through his veins and his passion for the sport was bolstered during his time at St Andrews university studying history. He went on to earn a post graduate diploma from the London School of Journalism. Fergus has worked for Golf Monthly since 2004 and has written two books on the game; "Great Golf Debates" together with Jezz Ellwood of Golf Monthly and the history section of "The Ultimate Golf Book" together with Neil Tappin , also of Golf Monthly.
Fergus once shanked a ball from just over Granny Clark's Wynd on the 18th of the Old Course that struck the St Andrews Golf Club and rebounded into the Valley of Sin, from where he saved par. Who says there's no golfing god?
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