Shriners Hospitals for Children Open: Kevin Na overcomes Patrick Cantlay in Las Vegas play-off

Leaderboard

-23 Na, Cantlay

-21 Perez

-20 DeChambeau, Hadwin, Stuard

19 Gay, Simpson

Final round report

Kevin Na triumphed in a play-off against Patrick Cantlay to claim the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open in Las Vegas on Sunday.

Na and Cantlay - tied on 23 under at the end of the final day - both birdied the first additional hole, meaning they had to play the 18th for a third time.

Back on the green, Cantlay left his putt for a birdie well short, while Na's shot went past the hole.

Cantlay - winner of this tournament two years ago and runner-up last time around - then missed a five-foot putt, but Na made no mistake to make par and win the tournament for a second time.

For Na, it was a hometown win. Though born in South Korea and raised in southern California from the age of eight, he now know lives in Las Vegas.

Pat Perez finished two shots behind the play-off pair, while defending champion Bryson DeChambeau was another stroke further back.

England's Ben Taylor finished joint 29th on 14 under, while Scotland's Martin Laird and Russell Knox were in a tie for 48th.

Round three report

Kevin Na matched his career-low to head into the final day of the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open with a two-shot lead over Patrick Cantlay.

Las Vegas local Na finished with a 10-under 61 on a day of low scoring.

The South Korean-American ended the day with a 22-under total of 191, which was a 54-hole record at the event he previously won in 2011.

Na had started the day in a four-way tie with fellow Americans Lucas Glover, Brian Stuard and Cantlay, a winner in Las Vegas in 2017 and runner up last year.

Na began with a pair of birdies on the first and second and kept his cool to nail a 22-foot putt on the fifth and save par.

Cantlay notched eight birdies in his first 16 holes but got stuck in a bunker on the 17th before closing out the final hole with a birdie.

Russell Knox of Scotland was Britain's best performer, moving up 20 places to 15th on 13 under after shooting a 65.

Round two report

Kevin Na produced an outstanding finish to claim a share of the halfway lead as Brooks Koepka crashed out of the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open in Las Vegas.

Na holed over 125 feet of putts over the last six holes, two of them dropping for eagle before a birdie-birdie finish capped a superb 62 on another day of low scoring at TPC Summerlin, while 2017 winner Patrick Cantlay fired a 64 to join the four-way tie at the top.

Brian Stuard (65) and 2009 US Open champion Lucas Glover (63) also head into the weekend on 12 under par, but Koepka's first start since losing out to Rory McIlroy at the Tour Championship in August resulted in a missed cut by four shots.

Na cruised to the turn in 31 before dropping his only shot of the day at the 10th, but he enjoyed an incredible run of form on the greens down the stretch, holing putts from 45 feet at the 13th and 35 feet at the 15th - both for eagle

The 36-year-old got further chances to drop from outside 20 feet on each of the last two greens to complete the low score of the second day in which he vaulted 42 places up the leaderboard.

"Yeah, my putter was hot," said Na with a wry smile afterwards. "I started with a 60-footer on the first hole, and I just kept making putts today. I hit a lot of good shots, too, but the putter was working.

"It's one of those days when you stand over it and you feel everything. My stroke just felt good and I felt confident over the putt. I was more into focusing on putting a good stroke on than trying to make it if you know what I mean."

Cantlay surged into contention with an impressive back-nine - his first nine - with four birdies and an eagle-two at the driveable par-four 15th adding up to an inward 30, although his scoring was more sedate on the front half as he mixed two further birdies with a lone blemish.

The leading quartet have a one-stroke lead over Australian Matt Jones, who returned an eight-birdie 63, while Scotland's Martin Laird raced to within three of the lead and capped a stellar 65 with his seventh birdie of the round.

Former Masters champion Adam Scott is also in the group on nine under, with Bryson DeChambeau, Phil Mickelson and US Open holder Gary Woodland one further off the pace after 36 holes.

But world No 1 Koepka will have the weekend off after he was unable to match the low scoring of his rivals, offsetting three birdies with a bogey and a double-bogey at the par-four 11th, where it took him four shots just to find the putting surface.

However, there will be interest for the Koepka family over the second half of the event as the four-time major champion's younger brother Chase added a 69 to his opening 66 to end the day five off the lead on seven under par.

Round one report

Phil Mickelson overcame an early blip to get into contention with a first-round 65 as Brooks Koepka struggled at the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open in Las Vegas.

Mickelson bogeyed his first hole but hit back with seven birdies to end the day just two strokes behind early leader Nick Taylor, while Koepka needed two late birdies to salvage a 70 which left him four shots adrift of his brother, Chase.

Taylor was red hot over his opening nine holes as, after starting at the 10th, he birdied 12 and 13 before launching a pinpoint 315-yard drive to five feet at the par-four 15th and converting the chance for eagle.

The Canadian stayed on a roll with further birdies at the next two holes as he turned in 30, although he was more quiet on the outward half and settled for two more gains at the fourth and ninth holes to close out a 63 which earned him the outright lead on eight under par.

Brian Harman emerged as Taylor's closest challenger, the left-hander enjoying a run of four consecutive birdies mid-round in a bogey-free 64, with Mickelson among a group of five Americans in a share of third after he returned his best score since February.

Mickelson began with a bogey at the 10th before responding with three birdies in four holes from the 13th, and he added four more over the front nine and was delighted to turn his form around after missing the cut at the Safeway Open last week.

"I felt like I just needed to make a subtle fix here or there from last week," he said. "The par-five play was poor, but I played today's par-fives in three under and shot a good round. That was a pretty easy fix.

"After the bogey on the first hole I played some really good golf. I kept ball in play and hit a lot of fairways. Right now my iron play is really good, and if I continue to give myself chances from the fairways I'm going to hit it close enough to make birdies.

"I'm excited to play some good golf again. I've had an awful six months on and off the course, but things are great now and I'm excited to play good golf. It takes a lot less energy, stress to perform well.”

Koepka, meanwhile, looked a little out of sorts in his first competitive appearance since losing out to Rory McIlroy at the Tour Championship in August and was one over with four to play before gaining some momentum to take into day two with birdies at the sixth and ninth.

The world No 1's 70 left him in a tie for 85th, but his brother Chase was nicely placed on five under alongside Adam Scott, Bryson DeChambeau and Patrick Cantley after a five-birdie 66 and a clean card.