Las Vegas, Nevada (January 8, 2012)–Las Vegas Golf Region resident and 2011 PGA Tour Champion Kevin Na went seriously low in the second round of the Hyundai Tournament of Champions in Hawaii. Na fired a 29 on the back nine and was 9-under par over his last 10 holes. The back nine included back-to-back eagles on 17 (a par 4) and 18 (a par 5). He ended with a 64 to rocket up the leaderboard. "I think it'll be the best finish of my life," Na told the media after the round. –By Brian Hurlburt
"I don't think I can do much better than that.," said Na, whose victory at Las Vegas' 2011 Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open was the first of his career. "Yesterday was kind of a slow round. I only made two birdies. And today, again, got off to a slow start. I was even par through eight holes and didn't get anything going until 9. I hit a really good putt from about 12 feet, made birdie. That kind of got my round going. Back nine all of a sudden it started coming together and I started hitting some good iron shots in there, made some good putts, and I had it 5‑under and I was pretty pleased."
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Click to watch the video of Na's eagle at 18 to close the deal. Na's approach landed in front of the green and took the break, trickling down to within easy eagle distance. He dunked the putt. The back-to-back eagle finish was the first time in Kapalua history that a PGA Tour player finished a tournament with two eagles on the final two holes in competition.
Na continued with the description of his once-in-a-lifetime final few holes: "At 17 I had 219 and off that hook lie, it was a right‑to‑left wind, I had 5‑iron in. Kenny and I felt we needed to hold it in there to have a perfect distance, and I hit a little holder, a little cut, held its line perfect, landed perfect, kept getting closer and closer, and it just fell in the hole. First thing that came to my mind was, man, I can eagle 18 again, back‑to‑back eagles, and I calculated it in my head, that's 29. On 18 I hit a great second shot, 3‑wood, hit it so perfect. Right when it left the face I knew it was good, and rolled down there nicely, what was it, about ten feet? And it was pretty simple putt, just inside the right, and right when I hit it, it started right there, and I knew it was going to go in, and it went in."
Na plays and practices at TPC Las Vegas, a Las Vegas resort course owned by the PGA Tour. Other Las Vegas golfers playing in the T.O.C. include Scott Piercy and Nick Watney. They both fired second-round scores of 71. Quotes courtesy of ASAPSports.com.