Kevin Na stays tied for lead after 2nd round at Players

May 8, 2015
Kevin Na follows his shot from the seventh fairway, during the second round of The Players Championship golf tournament Friday, May 8, 2015, in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

Kevin Na follows his shot from the seventh fairway, during the second round of The Players Championship golf tournament Friday, May 8, 2015, in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O’Meara)

By Brian Han

Korean American golfer Kevin Na posted another strong round on Friday at the Players Championship and managed to maintain a tie for the lead.

He matched his six birdie first round total, but had three bogeys after running into some trouble off the tee to shoot a 3-under 69 with a 9-under total.

“For these first two days I just feel like I’m hitting it really good,” Na told PGATour.com. “But you know, you hit a few loose tee shots out here and it’s easy to make a bogey, but I figured it out as I went on, made some great saves and putts and that’s what you’ve got to do out here.”

Na is sticking with his strategy once again with accuracy over distance — an approach that isn’t too common these days on tour.

“You have to not get greedy and sometimes plan for a par,” he said. “It doesn’t have to always be exciting, just smart.”

Jerry Kelly shot the low round of the day with a 7-under 65 and found himself tied with Na going into the weekend.

South Korean golfer Bae Sang-moon made a case for himself in the second round with a 4-under 68 to put him in a tie for 13th along with world No. 1 Rory McIlroy at 4-under.

Tiger Woods just made the cut with a 1-under 71 with a roller coaster of a round that included six birdies and five bogeys resulting in an even-par total.