For all the glitches in Na's take-away, he handled the criticism his preshot routine engendered, writes KAREN CROUSE
BEFORE HIS second shot in the final round of The Players championship, Kevin Na took his club back six times without hitting the ball and then backed away. Once he had regrouped, he performed two more waggles before striking the ball.
The fans counted each of Na’s waggles the way spectators usually keep track of strokes. One month after Bubba Watson steered golf outside the ropes of tradition with his freewheeling victory at the Masters, Na was poised to give the sport another quirky hero: the Unnatural.
Na’s pre-shot routine calls to mind the high-handicapper rather than someone on the cusp of one of the most prestigious victories in the sport. When he stands over the ball, he has the same comfort level of an actor afflicted with stage fright or a platform diver fighting vertigo. For all his stops and starts, there had been no slowing Na in the first 54 holes. With three consecutive sub-70 rounds, he built a one-stroke lead over the field in what is considered the most prestigious event outside the four majors.
As he made his way around TPC Sawgrass on Sunday, Na drew equal numbers of fans and gawkers. Those drawn by the potential spectacle of seeing his game veer wildly off course were easy to spot. They were the ones yelling “Hit it” or “Pull the trigger”. It was a tall order, trying to fight the clutter in his head, gusting winds and a gallery that was tilted heavily in favour of his playing partner, Matt Kuchar, whose fluid, flat swing is reminiscent of Ben Hogan, one of the game’s greats.
The wall of adversity proved a few bricks too high for Na to scale. An overly aggressive approach shot from the fifth fairway led to the first of six bogeys in a round of four-over-par 76 that dropped him into a tie for seventh.
Kuchar, so poised and polished he could be the PGA Tour logo, carded a 70 for a 72-hole total of 13-under 275 and a two-stroke victory over Martin Laird (67), Zach Johnson (68), Rickie Fowler (70) and Ben Curtis (68). A graceful game trumped a gutty one, a reversal from the Masters, where Watson’s verve triumphed over Louis Oosthuizen’s polish.
At the ninth tee, Na backed off his drive after some fans in a hospitality tent heckled him. They eventually fell silent, but their words seemed to ring in Na’s ears. After he missed a nine-footer for par on number nine – a distance he had made consistently all week - it was all over but the “Na Na Na Na, Hey Hey, Goodbye” chants. Those surfaced after Na hit his tee shot on the par-three 13th into the water hazard.
“You know, when I’m over the ball, it would be nice if it was quiet,” Na said. “But just guys, you can hear them talking, like ‘Pull the trigger, pull the trigger, hit it,’ which makes me back off even more. So that part was a bit tough.” He added: “But honestly, part of it, I deserve it. I mean, I’m being honest.”
Golf is a mirror that reflects one’s character while magnifying flaws: impatience, anger, dishonesty, vanity, arrogance. For all the glitches in Na’s take-away, he impeccably handled the inevitable scrutiny and criticism that his preshot routine engendered. He did not blame his coach for his discomfort, as some golfers do. He did not get defensive about his waggles, as the Spaniard Sergio Garcia did when he was singled out for gripping and regripping his clubs during the 2002 US Open at Bethpage Black on Long Island.
To the contrary, Na vowed to do better. “It’s going to take time, practice and tournaments,” he said, “and I’m going to try to take out the whole waggle. Honestly, it’s going to be a battle.”
For those who followed his round, there was a lesson in Na’s grace under the magnifying glass. His pre-shot routine may be a work in progress, but his perspective is flawless. “The average golfer has no clue how much pressure we’re playing under and how tough it is and how much of a fight it is mentally,” Na said. “I honestly think with all that going on, I did pretty well fighting. I had a good fight. I hung in there, so you know what, I just take positives from it.”
His history suggests Na will handle his disappointing finish with aplomb. During the first round of a PGA Tour event in San Antonio last year, Na made a 16 on a hole. When he returned to the event this year, he playfully took a chain saw to one of the trees that had contributed to his notorious score.
Kuchar was on the 18th green giving his victory speech when Na finished his interviews, the last few of which he conducted while signing a glove and a golf ball. On his way to retrieve his clubs, he stopped to listen to the speech. He applauded and then tossed the glove and the ball to fans. Na’s eyes were welling with tears, but he maintained his composure, as he had all afternoon.
New York Times
