Kevin Na wraps up final round with a solid back nine

Sometimes it’s the things no one notices.

Kevin Na, who attended Diamond Bar High School, started the final round of the Northern Trust Open on Sunday at Riviera Country Club tied with Fred Couples for second place, a shot behind Aaron Baddeley, the eventual winner.

By the time Na, who was paired with Couples and Baddeley, reached the 18th hole, he was in third place (behind Baddeley and runner-up Vijay Singh) and facing a seven-foot putt for par.

Na made the putt to complete an even-par round of 71 and finished alone in third place. He earned $442,000 along with valuable points to help his standing in the world rankings and toward Ryder Cup and FedEx Cup qualification.

“I was pretty proud of myself for pulling that putt off,” Na, 27, said.

Bogeys on the second, fourth and eighth holes just about knocked Na out of contention for his first PGA Tour victory, and he also bogeyed the 10th hole.

“I was very frustrated out there,” he said. “The putter just wasn’t there. Back nine I pulled it together the last few holes, so at least I did something.”

Reason to hope

Two-time tournament winner Phil Mickelson is not used to starting the final round on the 10th tee, far from the lead and television coverage.

But because Mickelson began the final round in a tie for 54th place, there he was Sunday morning teeing off on the 10th at 9:17 a.m. When Mickelson finished, though, he was smiling a bit. He shot three-under 68, his best round of the tournament, and finished at one under overall.

The tie for 35th place was not ideal, but Mickelson, who finished second at the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines and tied for ninth at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, will head to the World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship, which begins Wednesday at Dove Mountain near Tucson, with a little momentum.

Mickelson skipped the tournament last year so he could spend time with his wife, Amy, as she recovered from breast-cancer treatment.

Also leaving Riviera on Sunday feeling better about themselves were David Duval and Jhonattan Vegas. Even with a bogey on the 18th hole, Duval shot four-under 67 in the final round and finished tied for ninth at six under.

Vegas, the rookie from Venezuela who won his first PGA Tour title at the Bob Hope Classic last month and who challenged until the final hole before he tied for third at the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines, finished with a final round of five-under 66 that left him tied for 12th, five under for the week. Vegas pronounced himself “very pleased” with his effort over the weekend.

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