Kevin Na leads the Fort Worth Invitational by one over Charley Hoffman following a first-round 8-under 62. Here’s where things stand through 18 holes at Colonial.
Leaderboard: Na (-8), Hoffman (-7), Emiliano Grillo (-6), Jhonattan Vegas (-6), Andrew Putnam (-6), Beau Hossler (-6)
What it means: The veteran Na is in search of just his second PGA Tour victory in 367 events played. The 34-year-old’s lone victory came at the 2011 Shriners to go along with nine runner-ups, the most recent of which was a tie for second at this year’s Genesis Open. Na missed three straight cuts in April but has rallied back with a weekend stay at The Players and a T-6 at last week’s Byron Nelson. Ranked 75th in the world, he is not currently qualified for the U.S. Open or the Open Championship.
Round of the day: Na turned in a clean card Thursday with six birdies and an eagle at the par-5 first, his 10th hole of the day. He closed with a chip-in birdie at No. 9 following a friendly disagreement with his caddie (more on that below).
Best of the rest: Hoffman was likewise bogey-free, drawing seven circles. The four-time Tour winner and typically steady performer has yet to register a top-10 finish this season.
Biggest disappointment: Not that a round of 1 under is tragically disappointing, but Jordan Spieth has a pretty solid history of going low at this event and contending for the title. He’s seven back through Round 1.
Shot of the day: Satoshi Kodaira recorded the second albatross in tournament history when he holed a 3-iron from 234 yards at the first.
Honorable mention: Na got into a pretty good back-and-forth with his caddie about whether to lay up or try to clear the water from the right rough at No. 9. Na went for it, avoided hazard, and holed this chip for birdie.
IT'S IN! A chip-in birdie to finish a bogey-free round of 62!
Kevin Na leads the @FortWorthInv at -8. #QuickHits pic.twitter.com/mzsUEgMJf3
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) May 24, 2018
Quote of the day: “I told you.” – Na, after his chip-in
Source: Internet
