LIV Golf star angry at dismal play after getting stuck among Adelaide’s rowdy fans
Kevin Na let his emotions get the best of him during the final round of LIV Golf’s Adelaide 2024 event, as the 40-year-old let out a flurry of curses while stuck in a sandy lie
Kevin Na’s trip down under over the weekend took a negative turn in the final round of LIV Golf ’s Adelaide 2024 event.
Entering the final day of play, Na and the Iron Heads GC sat one shot off the lead and within reach of their first LIV team title. Things quickly unravelled for the group, however, as poor play dropped them down to sixth and 12 shots higher than first-place Ripper GC.
Despite starting off with a double-bogey on the 10th hole, Na momentarily recovered with six birdies and no bogeys in the ensuing 16 holes. But he crashed back down to earth on his final hole of the day – a par-5 ninth.
While lining up a shot from a sandy lie to the left of the fairway, Na could hardly believe the unfavourable situation he was in, saying: “I’m absolutely furious, this is f** b****.”
In an attempt to calm Na down, his caddie recommended he take a “deep breath,” but this advice hardly helped. The 40-year-old subsequently shanked his next shot and failed to get back onto the fairway, prompting him to exclaim “f* b” and “absolute f b*.”
Na proceeded to take his anger out on his bag, forcefully slapping it before pulling out a new club. The adjustment did little to help, as his second shot clipped a tree branch and dropped into the scrub.
Fans in attendance appeared to enjoy watching Na struggle, with one joking, “One of us,” and another breaking out into a fit of laughter. The five-time PGA Tour winner was able to salvage a double bogey at the hole and shoot 69, tying him for 34th place in individual competition.
Na wasn’t the only player who let their emotions get the best of them during the three-day tournament at the Grange Golf Club. As Dean Burmester and Louis Oosthuizen took on Cam Smith and Marc Leishman in the playoffs, the boisterous Australian crowd voiced their support for the pair of Aussies.
Burmester didn’t take kindly to the distracting gallery, yelling “Shut the f*** up!” Once the 34-year-old’s second shot dropped into a bunker, the crowd erupted into a state of pandemonium.
Not everyone had a bad experience in Adelaide. Smith enjoyed a fruitful weekend at his home event in front of a record-breaking 94,000 fans, chugging beer out of his shoe and leading Ripper GC to a team format victory.
“This week has far exceeded my vision for what was ahead,” he said. “I think I always knew internally that Australia would really embrace LIV with the culture, with the music, with the entertainment, everything that goes on around it.
“I always felt like this was the place where it was going to make it big, and how it’s been the last couple of years has been just insane.”
