New Sony Open in Hawaii champion Kevin Na hit only seven of 14 fairways in round three en route to shooting a nine-under 61. Presumably, then, he’s not one to worry about failing to find the short grass off the tee, a trait that came in handy on the opening hole in the final round at Waialae Country Club.
Teeing it up with Brendan Steele and Joaquin Niemann in the last group off the first hole, a tricky 449-metre par 4, Na pulled his opening drive well left of the fairway, the ball eventually coming to rest on a cartpath that runs alongside the hole.
Given where the ball ended up, Na could have taken relief left of the path. Yet presumably that would have left him with a more precarious shot then he had if he just played it off the path. We say presumably because Na elected to play the ball as it lay, taking out a fairway wood and doing this:
Kevin Na from the cart path. đź’Ş
He takes a fairway metal off the concrete to save par. He's just one shot back. pic.twitter.com/qCrwZFWmcm
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) January 17, 2021
Just how much swagger does Na possess? Well, look at him walking the shot in seconds after hitting it just like he does with his putts on the green.
What the video doesn’t show is the fact that Na hit the ball 193 metres off the deck on the concrete. It wasn’t far enough to reach the green, but it was safely in a front bunker where Na was able to get up and down to save what turned out to be a vital par (he shot 65 to win by a shot for his fifth career PGA Tour title).
RELATED: The clubs Kevin Na used to win the Sony Open in Hawaii
What the video did show is the fact that tour pros are not just like us, that they can play shots ordinary golfers wouldn’t dream of.
