Kevin Na envisioned himself winning the Charles Schwab Challenge, then went out and made it happen.
The 35-year-old Na closed with a 4-under-par 66 and coasted to a four-stroke victory over Tony Finau at Colonial Country Club www.colonialgolfclub.com in Fort Worth, Texas, after imagining it happening right before he teed off.
“It feels great,” said Na, who claimed his third PGA Tour victory and won for the second straight year after capturing the 2018 Military Tribute at the Greenbrier. “I stood on the first tee right before the start and looked at the Champions Wall there, and imagined my name engraved on it.
“Every year I’ve come here, I thought I had a chance to win. I knew before my career was over that it was going to happen, and now I might hopefully be able to do it a few more times before I’m done.”
Na, from Diamond Bar, collected four birdies on the front nine in the final round and capped his victory with a 12-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole to finish at 13-under 267. After opening with a 70, he jumped into contention with a 62 before taking a two-stroke lead with a 69 in round three.
Finau made three birdies on the front nine to stay close for a while, and his six-foot birdie putt on the last hole capped a 68 to give him second alone, and Andrew Putnam of Pepperdine shot 66 to wind up five shots back in a tie for third with C.T. Pan of Taiwan, who had a 69.
Jonas Blixt of Sweden, who held the lead after 36 holes, was one more back in fifth after a 68, while Rory Sabbatini of Slovakia, who won at Colonial in 2007, finished with a 67 and was seven down in a tie for sixth with Ryan Palmer, who wound up at 69.
Jordan Spieth, who won the tournament in 2016, didn’t make a birdie until the last hole for a 72 and was eight strokes behind in a tie for eighth with Russell Knox (65) of Scotland, Tyrrell Hatton (69) of England, Nick Watney (70) of Davis and Fresno State, and Mackenzie Hughes (72) of Canada.
Seventh-ranked Francesco Molinari of Italy shot 73 and tied for 53rd, while third-ranked Justin Rose of England, the defending champion, totaled 70 to tie for 58th.
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