Na has really turned up his production over the past few seasons on the PGA Tour and even during the abbreviated season this past year, he managed to put up some really solid numbers. It helps when you pick up a victory, but Na has done that in each of his past three seasons. Though he should post solid numbers again this season, his cap number is set a bit too high. As such, he's not a great salary cap option for the upcoming season.
Since Na first broke the $2 million barrier in 2009, he's fallen below just once when playing a full PGA Tour season. He again eclipsed that mark last season while only playing 19 events. Na generally plays around 26 events per season, which means he can definitely improve upon his number from this past season, but his upside might not be high enough. Na has twice posted a number north of $3.4 million, but he's only managed that twice in the past 10 years. He's more likely to wind up in the mid-$2 million range next season, which means he's not a great salary cap option.
Kevin Na is best known for his slow play and once posting a 16 on a hole, but he should be best known for being an amazingly consistent golfer the last decade. Since surpassing $2 million in 2011, Na has only dropped below once when playing a full season and that was the 2016-2017. How did he respond to dropping below $2 million? He came back with his best earnings number of his career last season. Na is a top-25 machine and he routinely posts multiple top-5s every season, but he's just not flashy. Some might even call him boring, because of his pace of course, but the checks all cash the same. Still, he set the bar awfully high last season, so he's probably not in-play as a salary cap pick, but he's a very valuable draft pick as he'll likely go later than he should.
The 2016-17 season was the first time in eight years that Na failed to make $2 million in earnings for a full season on the PGA Tour. Na played his usual schedule last season, he just wasn't as productive as his top-5, top-10 and top-25 finishes were all lower from the previous season. Na's poor season provides opportunity though as there's no reason to think he's regressing, he just simply couldn't get it going last season. As such, he's a solid salary cap candidate for the upcoming season.
Na has built quite the career over the past decade and last season was his best on the PGA Tour. Na earned a career-best $3.4 million thanks to a career-best four top-3 finishes. Na hasn't won since 2011, but that hasn't affected him much as his three most productive seasons have come over the past three years. Na is still in his early-30s, so he's right in his prime, which means he should produce on a high-level for years to come, but he set the bar awfully high last year, which makes him a poor choice for salary cap leagues this year. In drafts he's likely a 2nd-round pick.
Na bounced-back from an injury-riddled 2013 season in a big way in 2014. After earning just over $100k in 2013, Na set a career-high in earnings in 2014 when he surpassed the $3 million mark for the first time in his career. Na is no stranger to making money on the PGA Tour, he consistently topped the $2 million mark prior to 2013, but no one expected a year like he had in 2014. As is the case with guys having career years though, they don't often make for good salary cap options the following year and Na is no exception. In drafts he should go somewhere in the 3rd round.
Na finally got healthy a few years ago, and we are starting to see just how good he can be. Last seaosn wasn't his best year, but he played well for the most part and avoided those lulls that many players endure. Na has historically done most of his damage early in the season, and last year was no different. If he can ever carry that play over to the rest of the season, he could really leave a mark on the PGA TOUR. Either way, his earnings number from last year is very reasonable, and owners should take a long look at Na this season in salary cap leagues. In draft leagues, he should go in the fourth round.
The player best known for producing on the West Coast Swing finally picked up his first PGA Tour win last season, and wouldn't you know it, he picked up that win out west. However, this west-coast win came at season's end, not during the early season stretch on the west coast. Does this mean that Na is now a complete player who will compete all year? Probably not. Not only are there concerns about Na's play during summer, but he's also had a history of injuries throughout his career. Na has enough talent to compete most weeks on the PGA Tour, but there are too many questions to invest in him to heavily. Na should be considered in the mid-to-late fourth round in draft leagues.
With Tim Clark's win last season, Kevin Na is now one of a small group of players who could be considered the best on the PGA TOUR without a victory. Na definitely had his chances last season to get that elusive win, but the best he could muster was a lone runner-up finish at the Arnold Palmer Invitational. The win will eventually come and when it does, Na should take off, but until then he should remain a productive player who's going to end up in the top 50 come season's end. Na is one of the best putters on the PGA TOUR; he ranked near the top 20 in putting the last four seasons.
Na had an incredible 2009 season, but he is a risky fantasy pick due to his injury history. Na is still young, so his upside is very high, and he falls into the same category as many players around this spot in the rankings. He posted career-best numbers in 2009 and will have a hard time topping them in 2010. Injuries or not, Na has played well early in the season the last few years, so you may want to sell high on him this season if he starts out hot.
here are two major points to keep in mind when considering Na this season. The first is that he's dealt with a lot of injuries over the past five years and there's a good chance something will pop up again this season. The second is, he's a quick starter, but doesn't finish well. If he's going to play well, it will likely happen in the first few months of the season, after that, don't expect much.
In 2007 Na started to show what he can do when healthy. He's dealt with injuries since turning pro, but was finally able to put a full season together last year. Na is a solid player, and should only get better as he gets further removed from his injuries.
Na started the 2005 season well with a pair of runner-up finishes in February. Good thing for Na he played so well early because he did absolutely nothing after March. The drop-off was astounding, he earned about $850k in the first few months of the year and only about $250k over the last eight months of the year. In Na's defense, he did have to play through an injury that coincided with his demise. The problem with injuries on the PGA tour is their severity is never known. There's no injury report like in the NFL. Knowing his injury status and how much that affected his play last year would make it a lot easier to predict his level of success in 2006. Since I don't I can't go out on a limb.
He was a rookie on the PGA Tour last season after winning in Asia. He did okay early on, slumped in the middle of the season, but came on fairly strong at the end on the year. He should carry some momentum into 2005.
Na will be the youngest member of the PGA tour in 2004 at the age of 20. While he'll be a rookie on the PGA tour, he's played on both the Asian tour and European tour.
