Kevin Na and Chris Kirk; a Tale of Two Journeys
The PGA Tour continues to deliver incredible golf. This past week in Hawaii at the Sony Open did not disappoint. Kevin Na came from behind with one of the best weekends of his career. On Saturday Na climbed the leaderboard with a stellar 9 under par 61, but he wasn't finished there. He came back out Sunday and fired a very impressive 5 under par 65 to secure his victory at the Sony Open by one shot over Chris Kirk and Joaquin Niemann. Na not only won but he is always putting his own flare on the win. As to be expected Na was walking in putts, smiling ear to ear. In my opinion Na is one of the easiest guys to root for, he’s got a fantastic personality, coupled with being an incredible player he’s got it all. Now after this win and Na’s recent success, he began hinting at a lifelong goal of his, to play in the President’s Cup or Ryder Cup. Personally I think Na would be the perfect captain’s pick. He is a solid player, he brings high, positive energy to the team, and the way he walks in putts just breeds confidence for not only him but the entire team. He’s what we would refer to in football or any other team sport as ‘The best guy to have in the locker room.” He’s got all the talent in the world with a fiery side to him. Keep your eye on Kevin Na this year, he’s playing for much more than wins this year.
The next thing that I wanted to touch on this week actually comes from our runner-up finisher last week, Chris Kirk. Now Chris Kirk has been on my radar for quite sometime now. While he isn’t one of the big household names you commonly hear about, he is a household name to me. Kirk throughout his career played in 256 PGA Tour events capturing 4 wins and 30 top tens. He also competed in 57 Korn Ferry events, capturing 4 events on that tour as well. What many people don’t know about Chris Kirk is his battles off the golf course. Kirk fought a constant battle with alcoholism and depression. Now any golfer pursuing a pro career knows this lifestyle is extremely difficult. Golf is simply a hard sport and when your livelihood is on the line it becomes that much more pressure filled. When you rely on your athletic abilities to put food on the table for your family, your whole perspective changes. It goes from “ wow this is going to be an awesome paycheck, i’m going to buy a car and enjoy myself” to “I need to play well so my family can eat and live comfortably.” The pressures, depression, anxiety quickly got to Kirk and he began drinking and developed an alcohol addition. In 2019 Kirk stepped away from the game to receive medical help to fix his problem. He returned on a medical exemption, this gave him a chance to retain tour status. This is where the Sony Open comes in, Kirk used up all of his exemptions and in order to retain full playing status he needed to finish T-3 or better. Well, he did just that. With his T-2 finish he now has full status for the rest of the 2020-2021 season. This is probably one of the best stories I've heard recently, this man came back from a horrible addiction, he showed grit, tenacity, patience and perseverance. I implore you all to continue to follow his journey through his recovery and his life. He is an icon for struggling players, non athletes and anybody who is facing demons. Help is there, you are never alone. Hats off to Chris Kirk and his family, I cannot wait to see his success this year.
Speaking of success we have yet another great event and field coming up this week. This week the PGA Tour heads to La Quinta, California for the American Express at the Stadium Course. This is the first event of the west coast swing and we are in for an incredible few weeks. This week fans will be able to watch the likes of Brooks Koepka, Max Homa, Cameron Champ, Paul Casey, Scottie Scheffler, Phil Mickelson, and Patrick Reed. Gear up because we are in for another showdown. (Mike)
Kevin Na is one of the easiest guys on tour to root for. A family man who is always smiling as he does his trademark walking the putts in. He played some extremely strong golf last weekend to win and hold off a variety of guys. This was his fourth win in the last four years and Kevin has made it no secret that he wants to be on this year’s Ryder Cup team. I personally hope his recent form continues and he gives himself a real shot at making the team. The USA need a breath of fresh air after a rather pathetic performance in 2018 in France. I think if he continues to play well he deserves to be on the team. He would be a good guy to keep the room light and who would not want to see Kevin Na walking in putts to beat the Europeans? Awesome stuff from Kevin lately and the blog will most certainly be cheering for him to make the Ryder Cup team selection as hard as possible.
Yesterday news came out that Tiger Woods would be missing a few months due to a back procedure he had recently. It seems like we have been in this situation before many times and every time this has happened many people have ruled Tiger out from ever being competitive again. This feels like it could be the end for him competitively, but I know better to doubt his greatness. I hope we get to see a few more Sundays with Tiger in contention, but the recent news assures us that it will not be any time soon. This is another reminder how remarkable it was that he won both the Tour Championship, The Zozo and The Masters all within a year time frame. I certainly hope this is not the end for Tiger being competitive and we as fans get to see one more push to break the PGA Tour wins record. (Tyler)
Once again we are back to my favorite section, picks of the week.
Pick’s of the Week:
Mike: This week's winning pick goes to Scottie Scheffler. Scotties comes into the week with 16-1 odds. Scottie comes in as the top player in strokes gained from tee to green in the last 6 months. Last year Scottie finished solo third at the event which is a huge positive for him. He is also ranked 23 on tour in driving accuracy which will prove to be extremely valuable this week. Scottie will win the event coming at 22 under par. Good Luck Scottie.
This week most notable to miss the cut is Brooks Koepka. We have seen Brooks in 4 events so far, while he did notch two top 10’s I believe he just hasn’t had enough reps to compete well enough to win. He will need to really be on his “A” game to get the job done this week. Nevertheless, we love to be proved wrong, all the best Brooks.
Lastly, our underdog of the week. This week’s underdog winner goes to Emiliano Grillo. Grillio has played in 9 events so far with one top 10.Lately we have seen stroke play out of Grillo, who has held 18 and 36 hole leads recently, but ultimately collapsing and falling short. If Grillo continues to play his game, stays composed he's due for a breakout win and bring home the trophy. One stat that leads me to believe that he will win again is he is top 6 on tour in greens in regulation, managing to hit 76% of all his greens. This is a huge stat that will prove to breed success. Bring it home Emiliano!! (Mike)
Tyler: My pick last week was Morikawa and he honestly had a real shot at winning. He finished T-7 just three shots off the lead. So not a bad pick at all.
This week, my pick is Paul Casey at 45-1. He is one of the best in the world when he is at his best and I like him to take advantage of a weaker field this week and win. He has always been a great iron player and I think we will see that on full display this week.
My sleeper is Alex Noren at 70-1. I have always admired his game and it often confuses me how he has not won more on tour. He looks like a machine at times. I really like his chances to contend come Sunday afternoon.
My notable to miss the cut is Phil Mickelson. I simply just do not think he will make the cut this week. No real reason why, I just don’t like his chances to play the weekend.