Kevin Na, like a number of players on the PGA Tour, loves Colonial Country Club www.colonialgolfclub.com.
Na overcame a double-bogey 6 on the 11th hole to shoot 1-under-par 69 and take a two-stroke lead over five players to the final round of the Charles Schwab Challenge in Fort Worth, Texas—where he has finished in the top 10 four times, including fourth last year.
“Over the years, I’ve played some good golf here,” said Na, who passed up his senior year at Diamond Bar High to turn pro at 17 in 2001. “I feel like I can come here and play well even if my game has not been great.
“I drove the ball well, hit good shots into the greens and made some putts. I’ve been struggling a bit with the putter this year, my stats are not good, but my putting has been good this week.
“I was unfortunate to make that double bogey on 11, but fortunately I bounced back.”
Na, whose only stumble was the double bogey, made birdies on the first two holes and added another at No. 13 while finishing 54 holes at 9-under-201. He is seeking is third PGA Tour victory to go within wins in the 2011 Shriners Hospitals for Children Open and the 2018 Military Tribute at the Greenbrier.
Jordan Spieth, who won at Colonial in 2016, posted a 68 and is tied for second with Tony Finau (71), Jim Furyk (68), C.T. Pan (68) of Taiwan and Mackenzie Hughes (65) of Canada, had had three birdies down the stretch.
“I’d like to hit more greens in regulation, and in order to do that, I’ve probably got to be playing out of more fairways,” said Spieth, who tied for third at the PGA Championship last week. “It just comes down to ball-striking.”
Charley Hoffman of Poway and UNLV recorded a 63 that was the low score of the day and is three shots back in a tie for seventh with Austin Cook, who had a 65, while 36-hole lead Jonas Blixt of Sweden didn’t make a birdie while struggling to a 74 and is one more down in a tie for ninth with Ryan Palmer, who shot 68, and Nick Watney of Davis and Fresno State, who finished at 70.
Seventh-ranked Francesco Molinari of Italy is tied for 37th after a 70 and third-ranked Justin Rose of England, the defending champion, stumbled to a second 74 to go with a 67 and is tied for 66th.
For complete results, visit https://www.pgatour.com/leaderboard.html
