Sony Open: Kevin Na Catches Fire on Saturday in Hawaii

Kevin Na wasn’t in serious contention at the Sony Open as Saturday began. By the time the day finished, he had vaulted up the leader board.

Kevin Na had been lurking for two rounds at this week’s Sony Open. Then on Saturday, known as moving day on the PGA Tour, Na made his move. And he made it in a very big way.

Entering play on Saturday, Na was tied for 19th place overall at 7-under par. While a Top 20 is never a bad thing, Na went into Saturday with something much bigger in mind.

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His Saturday round opened with a par on the first hole, followed by a birdie on the second. He would par the third then birdie the fourth to get himself to 2-under par on the round.

From there, Na didn’t appear to have anything special in store. He parred the fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth holes remaining at 2-under in the process.

However, Na really jump-started his round on the ninth hole. On the par five, he stuck his second shot about eight feet from the hole, then rolled in the putt for eagle to close his front nine at 4-under par.

Na carried that momentum to the back nine with him.

On the 10th hole, he barely missed a birdie putt, settling for par. Then came the stretch of holes that vaulted him up the leaderboard.

Na birdied the par-3 11th hole. Then he birdied the par-4 12th. Then another birdie, this one on the par-4 13th. And he followed that with a birdie on the par-4 14th hole. That marked four birdies in a row, sending Na from 4-under to 8-under in a hurry.

He would par the 15th, 16th and 17th holes before closing with a birdie on the 18th hole. That gave Na a 9-under par 61, the best round of the week so far.

When he finished, Na held a one-shot lead as he looks for his fifth PGA Tour title. He will probably be overtaken by some players still on the course, but Na figures to be in the last group or two for the round on Sunday.

If Na plays Sunday anything near the way he played on Saturday, he will be able to add to his PGA Tour win total. While the 61 will be hard to duplicate, at least it has put Na in position to be thinking about winning this week in Hawaii.