Kevin Na "Withdrawing from the Masters due to illness"...

Round Abandoned Immediately After Completing 9th Hole
Qualification Maintenance for Next Year Uncertain

Korean-American player Kevin Na (USA) withdrew early from the 87th Masters Tournament.

On the 6th (local time), Kevin Na withdrew after losing 4 strokes by the 9th hole (par 4) in the first round of the tournament held at Augusta National Golf Club (par 72, 7,545 yards) in Augusta, Georgia, USA, citing "poor physical condition." The number of remaining LIV Golf players in this tournament decreased from 18 to 17. The total number of participants is 88.

Kevin Na is making a chip shot on the 2nd hole of the 1st round at the Masters. [Augusta, USA=AP·Yonhap News]

Kevin Na started the round in the very first group alongside 2003 champion Mike Weir (Canada). He had a shaky start with a double bogey on the 1st hole (par 4), followed by a birdie on the 2nd hole (par 5), but then bogeys on the 3rd, 5th, and 6th holes. After a birdie on the 8th hole (par 5) and a bogey on the 9th hole, he did not play the back nine. Kevin Na has appeared in the Masters 12 times in total. His best individual finish in the tournament is tied for 12th place, achieved three times in 2012, 2015, and 2021.

By withdrawing from this tournament, Kevin Na's participation in next year's Masters has become uncertain. To be invited to the "Tournament of Champions," a player must meet at least one of 19 criteria. Kevin Na qualified for the Masters last year based on being ranked within the top 50 in the world rankings at the end of the year. LIV Golf players do not receive world ranking points. Kevin Na's current ranking is 96th.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.