Kevin Na birdied the 72nd hole to claim a one-shot victory at the Sony Open

Kevin Na birdied the 72nd hole to claim a one-shot victory at the Sony Open

Kevin Na wins the 2021 Sony Open in a thrilling fashion to claim yet another honor in his bag of achievements.

The Korean-American golfer, who was three shots behind the top of the leaderboard after the 12th hole, hits three straight birdies and another one on the 18th hole to win the Sony Open in Hawaii on Sunday.

Na carded a 5-under-par 65 to finish at 21-under 259 at the Waialae Country Club in Honolulu to receive his fifth PGA Tour title, fourth in his last 55 starts.

On the 3rd day, Na shot a blissful 61 to move to within two shots of the lead after 54 holes; and fired a 5-under-par 65 on the final day to bag a one-shot victory over Chris Kirk and Joaquin Niemann.

“It feels great,” Na said. “I felt like Waialae is a golf course I really have a chance at, and there’s not too many of these left anymore, so I have to take advantage of it. What a great feeling to win at a golf course I really feel like I can win at.

“I think experience is the reason why I’ve been winning,” Na said “Experience and confidence. 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.”

Kevin Na, Chris Kirk and Joaquin Niemann

Kirk, who needed a high finish to keep his PGA Tour card, has no guilty to end his campaign at the second position rather than winning the event because, with Tied-second finish, he secured his PGA Tour Card.

“I’m very thankful, very grateful that I’m still able to do this. The last few years have been pretty wild, with some up-and-downs for me. But to be in this situation to be healthy, to have a clear mind and a clear conscience is amazing and golf is very much secondary to that. But still, it’s my career; it’s what I love to do, and to be able to have a week like I did this week is very gratifying. Kirk said.

Niemann, who lost in a playoff to Harris English in last week’s Sentry Tournament of Champions, finish the event as a runner-up for the second consecutive week.