Kevin Na claims impressive four-shot win at Charles Schwab Challenge
Monday 27 May 2019 00:03, UK
Kevin Na enjoyed the biggest win of his professional career as a final-round 66 earned him a comfortable four-shot win at the Charles Schwab Challenge in Texas.
Na produced a composed performance around the testing Colonial Country Club layout, capping his third PGA Tour title with his sixth birdie of the day as he closed on 13 under, four clear of Ryder Cup star Tony Finau.
Protecting a two-shot overnight lead, Na got off to a positive start when he birdied the second and picked up a bonus shot on the fourth as he holed from over 30 feet for a three, although the likes of Finau and veteran Jim Furyk were doing well to keep in touch with the leader.
Na added another birdie at the sixth before a poor second to the seventh led to a bogey, but he responded with a solid tee shot to 20 feet at the short eighth which he converted to get back to 12 under.
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His advantage was reduced to two when he scrapped his way to a bogey at the 10th and had to scramble a hard-earned par at the long 11th, but with his closest challengers struggling down the stretch, Na knocked a superb approach to inside 10 feet at the 14th and the birdie putt found the centre of the cup.
Rock-solid pars on each of the next three holes gave him the luxury of a three-shot lead to take up the last, and the 35-year-old finished off in style with a perfect tee shot, a pure short-iron to 12 feet and another putt found the target.
Finau was unable to set the testing target he required to put more pressure on the leader, with two poor bunker shots at 11 and 16 proving pivotal before he also birdied the last to close out a 68 which proved enough to earn outright second and his best result of the season.
Two late birdies in a 66 briefly gave Andrew Putnam the clubhouse lead on eight under, a score later matched by CT Pan after he started and finished his final round with birdies, but he had 15 pars and one bogey in between as he returned a frustrating 69.
Scotland's Russell Knox had the honour of posting the best score of the day, a bogey-free 65 which included three consecutive birdies to start the back nine as he claimed his first top-10 finish on the PGA Tour since the Phoenix Open in February.
Knox was joined on five under by England's Tyrrell Hatton, who was unable to build on a birdie-birdie start and picked up only one further shot at the eighth before labouring to a 69.
PGA Tour Golf
Also in a share of eighth was local favourite Jordan Spieth, who began the day only two adrift of Na and with high hopes of a second win at Colonial, and his first victory since The Open at Royal Birkdale in 2017.
But Spieth's tremendous putting form of the first three days was scarcely evident as he made three bogeys and did not make a birdie until the final hole in a disappointing, closing 72.
