SINGAPORE PREVIEW: CAPTAIN NA CONFIDENT IRON HEADS CAN BUILD ON ADELAIDE POSITIVES
SINGAPORE – Kevin Na doesn’t like hot and humid, which is exactly what he faces this week at LIV Golf Singapore.
Despite the prevailing weather here, what he is bullish about is his team Iron Heads’ chances at Sentosa Golf Club, after an extremely positive outing for the team in Adelaide last week.
Na has three keys to beat the Singapore heat.
“Hydration, hydration, and some more hydration,” said the 40-year-old Las Vegas resident.
“You just have to drink a lot. That’s all you can do. You need to save your energy. You have to minimize your warm-up and practice.”
And after Iron Heads’ finish in Adelaide, where they finished 6th – their best result of the season – despite leading the tournament early in the final round. Teammates Danny Lee and Jinichiro Kozuma were in contention before finishing tied 9th, their best finish of the season as well.
Na made a double bogey himself on his final hole on Sunday, a disappointing finish after he birdied each of his previous four holes. Scott Vincent also closed with a bogey, while Lee could only manage pars in his final five holes. After tallying 19-under and 15-under for the first two rounds, a 7-under effort on Sunday saw them slip down to 6th place.
The usually solid Vincent wasn’t at his best in Adelaide, but has some great memories of playing the Serapong course, including a stunning round of 9-under 63 on Saturday last year as he finished 4th and led Iron Heads to a 7th place finish.
“It was a tough finish in Adelaide. But we had some really good rounds, so there are a lot of positives. Danny and Jini were up there, which was really good. I was extremely proud of them,” said Na.
“I think we’re headed in the right direction. I am not sure if we can contend for a podium finish against so many strong teams, but we can target for a better finish than Adelaide and keep trending in the right way.
“Given how the format works, you don’t have to be in the top-three all the time to make it all the way to Sunday (of the Team Championship in Chicago). You just got to play good during the match play and beat some bigger opponents.”
Captain Na was full of praise for Kozuma, the latest member of the team who qualified for the LIV Golf 2024 season through the Promotions event in Abu Dhabi last December.
“I think Jini is learning that he can play on a big Tour against the big names. That was a big confidence boost for him last week. With some of the courses coming up, like Spain and here in Singapore, and I think he will do well.
“We all know Jini is a good player. Coming in, the first few weeks are never going to be easy and there is a lot to learn playing against the best players in the world. It’s a different atmosphere for him, but he has adjusted nicely. And he showed what he is capable of last week.
“As for Scottie, I back him to do well again this week. He hasn’t had the best of results this season, but we all know how good a player he is.”
Iron Heads are currently placed at the bottom of the season-long standings. Both Kozuma and Lee opened their accounts in the individual standings, moving to tied 37th place with 8.4 points. Captain Na is the best-placed Iron Heads player at 25th place, with the tied 6th in Hong Kong being his best result of the season.