Kevin Sangwook Na is a professional golfer who was born in Seoul, South Korea, on September 15, 1983.
When he was eight years old, he and his family emigrated to the US and lived in southern California. At the age of 17, Na left Diamond Bar High School following his junior year to pursue a career in golf.
Na’s professional golfing career began on the Asian Tour, where he competed and won the 2002 Volvo Masters of Asia before moving on to the PGA Tour, European Tour, and European. He received a PGA Tour card for the 2004 season and finished fourth at the Honda Classic and third at the Southern Farm Bureau Classic. He placed second at the FBR Open and Chrysler Classic of Tucson in 2005, then in 2006, a hand injury kept him out for six months. However, he triumphed in his first game back, a rehab start on the Nationwide Tour, the Mark Christopher Charity Classic.
Na participated in the PGA Tour through a medical extension in 2007 and placed fourth at the Verizon Heritage. He finished fourth at the Hawaii Sony Open and FBR Open in 2008. He placed third at the Players Championship and the FBR Open in 2009, fifth in the Mayakoba Golf Classic, Sony Open in Hawaii, and Reno-Tahoe Open. With nine top-10 finishes and 14 top-25 finishes, he finished 19th on the money list and earned his first-ever entries into the Masters Tournament and the U.S. Open in 2010.
Kelvin Na placed 37th in season earnings in 2010 after placing second at the Arnold Palmer Invitational and third at the BMW Championship. Na had a chance to win his first PGA Tour championship at the Northern Trust Open in February 2011. After a run of four bogeys in the opening ten holes, he ultimately came in third, behind Vijay Singh and eventual champion Aaron Baddeley.
Since the PGA Tour started keeping track of hole-by-hole scores in 1983, Na’s 16 on the ninth hole at the Valero Texas Open on April 14, 2011, is the worst par-4 score ever recorded on the tour. After his tee shot left him with an unplayable lie, he needed additional shots, and when his ball struck a tree and came back onto him, he was assessed a two-stroke penalty. Na ultimately had an eight-over-par round of 80, with his remaining 17 holes coming in at four under par.
Na placed fifth at the Bob Hope Classic and Wells Fargo Championship in August 2011 and tenth at the PGA Championship. After 211 attempts and eight years on the circuit, Na finally won on the PGA Tour on October 1, 2011. He beat Nick Watney by two shots in the final round, shooting a final-round 65 with birdies at holes 15, 16, and 17. He was awarded $792,000 in prize money. As Na concluded the week at 23-under par, he also beat the tournament scoring record of 21-under par. Na placed 30th in season earnings and received a two-year exemption from the tour as a result of this victory.
Kevin Na had a successful 2012 PGA Tour season, placing highly in a number of important competitions. He was fourth at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, fifth at the Phoenix Open and AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, seventh at the Players Championship, and twelve at the Masters Tournament.
Due to a back injury, Kevin Na was only able to make eight starts in the first few months of 2013, so his success was fleeting. He underwent rehabilitation before making a comeback in October, competing in his first PGA Tour event since April by placing third at the Frys.com Open. Na just needed seven starts to stay on the PGA Tour despite being awarded 18 as part of a medical extension.
With second-place finishes at the Memorial Tournament and Valspar Championship, third at the Frys.com Open, fourth at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, ninth at The Barclays, and a 12th-place result at the U.S. Open, Kevin Na maintained his great form in 2014. He earned the 20th-most money at the end of the season.
The 2016 PGA Tour season opener at the Frys.com Open demonstrated that Kevin Na’s luck wasn’t always on his side. He lost in a sudden-death playoff against Emiliano Grillo after hitting his second shot to the par-five 18th hole off-line and finding himself caught behind a tree, which led to a bogey. Yet he was able to atone for his mistakes by finishing seventh at the 2016 U.S. Open at Oakmont Golf Club, which was his best result in 24 appearances at major championships.
Although Kevin Na triumphed in his second PGA Tour tournament, A Military Tribute at The Greenbrier, with an amazing score of -19, his fortunes drastically shifted in 2018. At the Charles Schwab Challenge in 2019, he triumphed for the third time on the PGA Tour, finishing four strokes ahead of Tony Finau. His stellar performance featured a second-round score of 62 and a final-round score of 66.
By winning the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open at TPC Summerlin in Las Vegas on the second sudden-death playoff hole against Patrick Cantlay, Kevin Na extended his winning streak and won his fourth PGA Tour title in October 2019.
In January 2021, Kevin Na won the Sony Open in Hawaii after a spectacular comeback that saw him go from three strokes down with six holes remaining to win by one stroke. At the Wyndham Tournament in August of the same year, Na and five other players were tied for the lead after 72 holes, but Kevin Kisner prevailed in the playoff.
Kevin Na received a $4,000,000 award in the season-long FedEx Cup for being third at the Tour Championship at East Lake Golf Course in Atlanta, Georgia, in September 2021. Na, however, made the decision to join the LIV Golf Invitational Series and resigned from the PGA Tour in June 2022.
Who are Kevin Na’s Parents?
Parents Yong Na and Jung Hye-won are Kevin Na. His father, Yong Na, was a computer engineer who was born in South Korea. His mother, Jung Hye-won, a former hairdresser who is also from South Korea, is likewise of that country.
Na’s parents introduced him to golf when he was a small child, which had a big impact on his early golf career. Also, they helped him out by putting in long hours to pay for his training and competition expenses.
Na’s parents managed to make it to his competitions despite their hectic schedules, and they were frequently spotted supporting him from the sidelines. Na has thanked his parents in interviews for their steadfast support and sacrifice in allowing him to follow his passion for golf.
