Ferd Lewis: Kevin Na put his birdie run on full display to shoot a 61 at the Sony Open

It starts with a birdie putt that begins running straight and true and finishes with a race to the cup between the ball and the golfer who just launched it, Kevin Na.

The curiosity that is the walk-in putt — Golf Channel commentator Mark Rolfing has taken to calling it “The Na” — was on wide display Saturday at the Sony Open in Hawaii, where its foremost practitioner on the PGA Tour sprinted to within striking distance of the tournament championship today.

Na, who has three top-eight finishes at Sony but no title in 14 appearances, shot a 9-under-par 61 at Waialae Country Club for a share of second place, two shots behind third-round leader Brendan Steele’s three-day total of 192.

Seven birdies and an eagle in a bogey-free round, including at one point five birdies or better in six holes, momentarily gave Na the lead until being matched by Joaquin Niemann and overtaken by Steele.

The 37-year-old Na, who was born in South Korea and became a U.S. citizen after moving to California at age 8, has been known to race as much as a 30-footer into the cup when he is in his putting zone. But Saturday he got a late start on a 13-footer on the 11th hole, leaning and leaning before dashing to meet it at the hole, hand already poised to scoop it out.

“It wasn’t my full-on,” Na acknowledged. “You know, these grains, they can get you at the end so you just kind of give one of these at the end sometimes.”

What has become Na’s trademark gained its widest attention two years ago at The Players Championship when one of his sprints to the hole prompted a chuckle from Tiger Woods, his playing partner. When Woods subsequently offered an imitation, the two exchanged fist bumps, and the crowd erupted.

Since then, Na says, it seems like every time another golfer takes it up he hears about it on social media.

“I didn’t invent it,” said Na, who took it up as an amateur and found that it pumps him up, making him more aggressive for the coming holes. “I always watched pros do it, and I always imitated it. I’ve done a good job of getting good at it, that’s for sure.”

The trick, of course, is to make sure the putt goes in and that you don’t touch the ball early.

Sadly, there would be no rush to the cup at the 17th hole Saturday, where, staring at a possibility of shooting a 59, if he could eagle the 18th, Na came up short on birdie.

“At 17 you’re thinking, ‘OK, I make birdie here, (then) eagle and I have a chance for a 59, and how often do you get a chance to go for that magic number?’” Na said.

“And it’s definitely in your head. If you’re a professional golfer, it’s in your head. It was fun and exciting. Unfortunately, we misread that putt totally, but you know what, I made a nice one on 18.”

In recent years just getting on the course at Waialae in one piece has been a challenge enough for Na. “Two years ago I (came to) Maui (for the Sentry Tournament of Champions), but I didn’t play Maui. I broke a finger, tried to play here, but couldn’t play,” Na said. Then,“last year I played Maui, came here, hurt my neck, and I didn’t play.”

On Wednesday, prior to the pro-am, “I actually pulled my rib and was like, ‘Here we go again,’” Na said. “But I’m just happy to be playing. Maybe that’s the attitude I need.”

One calculated to keep him on a birdie run to a victory.

Reach Ferd Lewis at flewis@staradvertiser.com or 529-4820.