On his LIV Golf profile page, Kevin Na cites “2-footers” as the shot that gives him the most trouble.
But in the final round of LIV’s event in Adelaide, Australia, on Sunday another challenge most vexed Na: recovery shots from the trees.
If this tale of woe sounds familiar, that’s because in 2011 Na signed for one of the most shocking scores in PGA Tour history: a duodecuple-bogey 16 in the opening round of the Texas Open. Surely not all 16 of those strokes are burned in your — or even Na’s — memory, but perhaps a couple of them are: his back-to-back tee shots into nearly identical spots in the brush; his fourth shot, from the trees and vines, that hit him, costing him another stroke; his 11th swipe with which he finally, mercifully extracted his ball from the woods. If you were watching from home, you might have been doing so from behind a pillow.
To Na’s credit, he took the episode in stride and good humor. Golf is hard, yadda, yadda. Later that year, he won his first PGA Tour title, in his hometown of Vegas, and went on to become one of the Tour’s most consistent players. Na, now 40, has racked up five Tour titles in all, 79 top-10 finishes and nearly $38 million in career earnings.
But in 2022, Na left that life behind when he signed with LIV Golf. More time at home with his three children appealed to him, Na said, and so did the chance to play team golf. Na didn’t mention the money but that, of course, was also a draw. Despite not finishing in the top 30 of the individual standings in LIV’s first two seasons, Na still pocketed nearly $6.2 million to go along with whatever meaty signing bonus he had received. This year has been better for Na, but only marginally. He is 25th in the player standings, but the team he captains, the Iron Heads, are in last place in the 13-team league.
How Kevin Na made a 16 at the 2011 Texas Open and still laughs about it
But Down Under this past weekend, things were finally looking up. On the eve of the third and final round, Na’s Iron Heads were in the hunt, just one off the lead, powered by Na’s second-round seven-under 65. On Sunday, Na opened with a bogey 6 on the 10th hole (LIV’s format includes a shotgun start), but erased the slow start with birdies at 12 and 18. Then he really got going, running off four straight birdies from 5-8 to get to five under for the round with just one hole to play.
And then? Well, it wasn’t quite the Texas Open massacre, but it wasn’t pretty, either.
After tugging his tee shot left of the fairway, Na found his ball in a sandy area and pinned in by trees. Worse yet, his orb was sitting in a fan’s footprint.
“I’m so furious,” Na said of his grim lie. “This is f—ing bull—-.”
To which Na’s caddie, Kenny Harms, said, “Deep breaths.”
Na sized up a couple of shot options but didn’t waste time playing, thumping an iron into the sand with the aim of splitting the trees and knocking his ball back into the fairway.
He was unsuccessful.
“F—ing bull—-,” Na said again before slapping his bag in anger.
Na’s next attempt, a seemingly more manageable chip back to the fairway, fared no better.
A few beats after a fan said, “One of us,” Na swung, but his ball hit a small sign and ricocheted back at him.
Seething, Na let just a few seconds elapse before playing his fourth shot — another recovery chip that, this time, scurried out to the fairway with Na fast-walking after it.
The good news: Na would avoid a duodecuple bogey. The bad news: He still made a double that dropped him back to three under for the round. Na ultimately finished 34th in the individual event while his Iron Heads finished 6th.