Kevin Na scratched his seven-year itch Sunday and walked away with A Military Tribute at The Greenbrier.
“It took my eight years to get my first win,” Na said after he blew away the rest of the contenders with a closing 64. “I said it would not take eight years to win my second — it only took seven!”
Na was nothing but smiles after a five-shot victory that gave him an easy stroll to the clubhouse after he hit a massive drive, a sweet second then holed a 10-footer for birdie at the par four 16th.
He was spectacular over his first nine when he separated himself from the field. He birdied the fourth from five feet, the fifth from 11 feet, the sixth from 33 then he made a bomb of a 43-footer at the par three eighth that started another three-birdie run.
“I felt like today was the day,” said Na, who kept admiring the tournament trophy all week. “I kept telling myself it would look good on my mantle.”
Na has been a consistent player who simply hasn’t won that much. He came into the week ranked 65th in the world and will take a big jump when the new rankings come out this week.
“I look at the stats on my top 10s, the second place finishes, I’ve been close so many times and failed so many times. This feels amazing.”
Na’s putter was his primary weapon, he used it only 24 times and kept his mind on the task at hand. “I never got ahead of myself,” he added.
By day’s end he was five better than Kelly Kraft, the overnight co-leader who finished runner-up for the second time in his career. He shot an even-par 70.
Harold Varner III, the other 54-hole co-leader, ran into some problems on the back nine and finished with 72, tied for fifth at 12-under par. A double-bogey at the par four 13th cost him a spot in the Open Championship in two weeks.
