Kevin Na, 38, celebrates the championship by holding a hat after succeeding in a birdie putt at the 18th hole of the Waialay CC in Honolulu, Hawaii, where the US Pro Golf (PGA) Tour Sony Open was held on the 18th (Korean time). AFP Yonhap News “/>-
Kevin Na, 38, celebrates the championship by holding a hat after succeeding in a birdie putt at the 18th hole of the Waialay CC in Honolulu, Hawaii, where the US Pro Golf (PGA) Tour Sony Open was held on the 18th (Korean time). AFP Yonhap News
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“Thank you for supporting me in Korea from this early morning. See you in Korea soon.”
Korean American Kevin Na (Korean name: Na Sang-wook, 38) opened his speech in Korean in an interview after winning the Sony Open on the PGA Tour. After asking what the American broadcasters mean, they continued answering in English. When he was eight years old, he and his family immigrated to the United States, but his Korean pronunciation was correct. Kevin Naga, who usually said he was a Korean to the bones, was the first thing that came to mind after winning the championship was a Korean fan who held a cheering battle from a thousand kilometers away.
Win with Life Best
Kevin Naga achieved a total of 5 PGA wins with an exhilarating reverse win. In the final round of the tournament held at Waialay CC (par 70, 7044 yards) in Honolulu, Hawaii, USA on the 18th (Korean time), I tied 6 birdies and 1 bogie to write a 5 under par 65. With a final total of 21 under par 259, he beat Joaquin Nieman (22, Chile) and Chris Kirk (36, USA) with a single stroke to win the championship.
It is the championship that came 15 months after the opening of Schreiners Children’s Hospital in October 2019. Kevin I, who has won four consecutive seasons since the 2016-2017 season, said, “I feel special because I won the best score since my debut on the PGA Tour.” “There have been several crises, but I am happy to overcome it and reach the top.”
Kevin I started with a tie for second place, two strokes behind the lead, and I stumbled early. In the first half, he grabbed two birdies and started pursuing, but lost one stroke and tied for sixth after missing a short par putt on the 12th hole (par 4). He explained, “The putt was short because I saw the turf texture that was innocent in the 12th hole as the reverse.
Ranked 1st in accumulated prize money from Korea
Kevin, an 18-year tour veteran, I was not shaken. He succeeded in putting a 5m birdie putt on the 13th hole (par 5) and started the chase, then he took the top of the leaderboard by reducing one stroke in the 14th hole (par 4) and the 15th hole (par 4). The winning place is hole 18 (par 5). Kevin I attached the third shot to 50cm to catch a birdie and won the thrilling turnaround. He said, “The game didn’t go well until the middle, but I was enjoying the game. “I knew there were many holes left to catch the birdies.”
For Kevin Na, winning this day has a special meaning, surpassing 5 wins in total. He won 1,188,000 dollars (about 1.3 billion won) as the winning prize, and surpassed Choi Gyeong-ju ($51, 32.99 million) of’tank’ in the cumulative prize money ($33.48 million). It is the number one accumulative prize money among Korean players who entered the PGA. In 2008, the champion of this tournament, Choi Gyeong-ju, was pushed to 71st place (5 under par, 275 shots), losing 4 shots with 5 bogies and 1 birdie.
Kevin I raised the world ranking to 23rd with this victory. FedEx Cup points also received 500 points, reaching 10th place, up 88 places from 98th last week. He said, “The driving force behind the recent uptrend is thanks to having a happy family life with my wife and two children,” he said. “The goal is to continue the rise and raise the world ranking to the top 20.”
Reporter Kim Soon-shin [email protected]
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