Weekly Recap: Na, I'm Good

Dustin Johnson. Jon Rahm. Justin Thomas. Bryson DeChambeau. Kevin Na.

One of those is not like the others. 

Yes, only four of the five of them are ranked top-5 in the world. But they also have something else pretty impressive in common. They are the only golfers to have won PGA Tour events each of the past four seasons.

Na joined the four heavyweights by capturing the Sony Open in Hawaii on Sunday with a tap-in birdie on the 72nd hole at famed Waialae Country Club.

All of a sudden, Na is up to 23rd in the world rankings, just off his career-high of 19th, reached at the tail end of 2015. It's certainly not unusual for a golfer to come into his own in his 30s, but mid- to late 30s? Na is 37.

It wasn't too long ago that Na was known for not winning.

It took him a decade and more than 200 PGA Tour starts to win for the first time, at the 2011 Shriners. Then it took him another seven years and 150-plus tournaments to win again, at the 2018 Greenbrier.

According to Golf Channel, Na won only one of this first 369 Tour starts. Since then, though, he's won four of his past 55 beginning with that 2018 Greenbrier and adding the 2019 Charles Schwab, the 2019 Shriners and now the 2021 Sony.

So, what has happened?

"I think experience is the reason why I've been winning, experience, confidence," Na told reporters at his news conference on Sunday. "When you do it again, you know it seems like the next one comes easier.

"It's never easy to win, but the confidence that you validate in yourself really helps. Support with the family, support with my team. Everyone's believing in me and pushing me to the right direction. You know, all this time waiting is paying off right now."

Na also largely echoed what Kevin Kisner said earlier in the week about not being able to contend at every course yet showing up anyway because, as Kisner said, "they give away a lot of money for 20th."

Here's what Na said when asked whether his mindset has now changed after winning four of the past 55: "Yes and no. I mean, it depends on what golf course I go to. A golf course like this, I really feel like I've got a chance and I'm looking, trying to contend, at least try to get a top-10 in, and if things go well, contend. Certain golf courses, 20th place is maxing out for me."

Basically, Kisner and Na are saying they aren't long hitters. Na isn't even averaging 290 off the tee, ranking close to 200th on Tour in driving distance. He was a bit longer at Waialae, but the course really chokes off the longer hitters, allowing for someone like him to excel. He ranked fifth in Strokes Gained: Approach, eighth in SG: Around-the-Green, second in SG: Tee-to-Green and 23rd in SG: Putting to win by one over fellow short hitter Chris Kirk and long hitter Joaquin Niemann.

So we know the kinds of courses where Na can contend. But curiously, he does not have many good weeks -- outside the ones in which he wins. In the 73 tournaments across his past four winning seasons, he has only 12 top-10s. That's a one-season total for the likes of DJ, Rahm, Thomas and DeChambeau.

We know that Na is not in their class, even with the four-season winning streak. But he's also a hard guy to count on week in and week out and a tough golfer for fantasy players to peg.

Hawaii Swing: For those who want to store this away for next year, Na's win means that the Sony Open winner has come from the ranks of the Sentry Tournament of Champions 16 times in the 23 years since the TOC relocated to Hawaii, including eight of the past 10. And 14 of the past 16 Sony Open winners played Waialae multiple times before winning.

MONDAY BACKSPIN

Chris Kirk
Na won the tournament, but Kirk in some ways was the biggest winner. He was playing for his job. Kirk's career was derailed by difficulties with alcohol and depression. He returned to the Tour under a major medical extension, and this was his final tournament to make good. He made great. Kirk tied for second, surpassing the 148.934 FedEx Cup he needed to keep his card. Whether this is the impetus for the 35-year-old to become fantasy relevant again, it's too soon to know. Like Na and Kisner, the course will often dictate his chances. But it's great story of perseverance regardless.
 
Joaquin Niemann
Two weeks into 2021 and two close calls. Or, two weeks into 2021 and two amazing tournaments. Both are true for the still-22-year-old Chilean, who just cracked the top-25 in the world rankings for the first time after sharing runner-up honors with Kirk. Last week, Niemann was solo second. It would seem a second career win is coming very soon.

Brendan Steele
Not too many people leave Hawaii disappointed, but that will be the case two years in a row for Steele. He had the 54-hole lead and carried a three-stroke edge into the back nine only to end up tied for fourth. Last year, he got caught on the 72nd hole and fell in a playoff to Cameron Smith. Steele is still a great ball striker at age 37, but putting is normally his Kryptonite. He was 12th in the field in Strokes Gained: Putting this past week and was sixth last year, which explains the high finishes and clearly shows an affinity for Waialae's greens. Steele is back inside the top-100 at 85th, his best position since late 2018. (He's also now one spot ahead of Jordan Spieth.)

Webb Simpson
Ho-hum, another top-5 for Simpson at the Sony. He tied for fourth a year after a solo third. He led the field in putting. There's nothing much more to say other than this was completely expected.

Marc Leishman
The big question is: Is this tie for fourth the springboard Leishman needs to return to past glory? He had been slumping since the restart last June. He ranked fifth in the field in SG: Tee-to-Green and was 29th in SG: Putting. We'll have to wait for the answer to our question, as Leishman is not in the field for this week's American Express tournament at La Quinta.

Patton Kizzire
We know that Kizzire loves Waialae – he won there in 2018. But he had pretty much fallen off the PGA Tour map since – until finally showing signs during this past fall season. So after a T24/T11/T10 stretch bridging October and November, Kizzire tied for fourth at the Sony. We know he's a good putter, and he ranked 17th in SG: Putting. But he also was 17th in SG: Off-the-Tee, fourth in SG: Around-the-Green and 17th in SG: Tee-to-Green. All of that is enough to suggest that this is more than just another good week at a favorite track. We'll see Kizzire again in just a few days at The American Express.

Russell Henley
Henley did not have a good Sunday. He shot only 2-under 68 to fall from the top-5 to T11. Yet the week was good enough to move him to the cusp of returning to the top-50 in the world rankings. He is now 52nd after being well into the 200s at this time a year ago. Henley is not too far off his career high of 43rd, which happened almost seven years ago.

Nick Hardy
The 24-year-old Korn Ferry Tour player Monday-qualified into the Sony and made the most of it. He tied for 14th, by far his best showing in 11 career PGA Tour starts. He's also played only 32 times on the Korn Ferry Tour, so he hasn't had many chances, period. One more stroke would've gotten Hardy a top-10 and into The American Express, but for now he does not know when his next PGA start will be. The KF season starts in late February. For now, Hardy is up to a career-best 350th in the OWGR.

Charles Howell III
Howell's cut streak at Waialae is now 20 – as in 20-for-20. And he did it with another top-20. He closed with a 64 to tie for 19th. Last season overall was not great for the 41-year-old, and this was his best showing in seven events this season.

Kramer Hickok
Hickock tied for 19th, which actually was his third top-25 in his past five PGA Tour starts. Granted, the other two were in Bermuda and the Dominican Republic, but that's still saying something for someone ranked 319th in the OWGR. Putting is still a huge issue. He entered the week outside the top-200 on Tour and ranked 122nd on the week. Let's see what happens with Hickock this week at The American Express.
 
Hideki Matsuyama
Lather, rinse, repeat: Top-25, doesn't putt well enough for a top-10. Matsuyama tied for 19th after ranking third in the field in greens in regulation and 139th in putting. He did move up to 20th in the OWGR, which is apropos and close to where he finishes in tournaments many weeks.

Harris English
English tied for 32nd, and that's fine. It's hard to expect too much the week after a win, especially your first in more than seven years. English did manage to creep up to a career-best 16th in the world rankings, and he surely is among the top 15 or 20 players in the world right now.

Kevin Kisner
Kisner didn't win and he didn't finish 20th, which would've paid him $87,450. Instead, he tied for 32nd and earned $34,577. Hopefully that will do for him for a week's work.

Cameron Smith
Smith, a pretty good putter, putted out of his mind in winning the Sony last year. He didn't putt well this time around and tied for 62nd. A bigger concern with Smith is his iron play. He ranked T132 in SG: Approach at Waialae.
 
Jerry Kelly
The Sony is the only PGA Tour event that the 54-year-old Kelly still plays annually – as a former champ, he gets invited back. He made the cut for the second straight year, finishing last among the cut-makers at 73rd. He was T45 last year. He also played the Workday Charity Open last year and managed a top-25. No fantasy value, just a neat story.

Abraham Ancer
Ancer doesn't miss many cuts; this was only his third in 15 months. He last missed at the Northern Trust in the playoffs and at the 2019 Shriners – coincidentally also won by Kevin Na. Look for Ancer to start a new cut streak this week at the Amex.

Matt Kuchar
Kuchar doesn't miss many cuts, but he did this week and fell to his lowest ranking in more than a decade. He's now 42nd, the first time he's been that low since early 2010. After a fantastic 2018-19 in which he won twice with eight total top-10s, Kuchar, 42, has only one top-10 since then, none this season.

Brandt Snedeker
Snedeker missed the cut and now sits 99th in the OWGR. He hasn't been outside the top-100 in more than a decade, since 2010. His only top-10 in the past two seasons was at, you guess it, Torrey Pines, where he tied for third last year. The Farmers Insurance Open can't come soon enough for the 40-year-old Snedeker. It's in two weeks.

Takumi Kanaya
The former top-ranked amateur who turned pro after missing the cut at the U.S. Open was lighting it up in Japan, with a win and four other top-10s in five starts. But he missed the cut at the Sony on a sponsor invite. He also was at the ZOZO in the fall and tied for 41st.  He's 120th in the world – outstanding for someone who's been pro for such a short time – but we don't know when we'll see him again. Presumably he's heading back to Japan. We for sure will see Kanaya at the Open Championship, as he's already qualified.