Kevin Na birdies 9 of last 12 holes for 63 and lead when rain suspends Canadian Open

Rain stops Canadian Open with Na in lead after 63

OAKVILLE, Ontario — Kevin Na skipped his senior year of high school to turn professional at 17. At 25, the Canadian Open leader can still be a little childish.

That was clear to anyone within earshot of Na and caddie Kenny Harms on Thursday at Glen Abbey as they argued about their options on the 11th hole — a tree and swollen 16-Mile Creek lurking ahead on the downhill par 4.

“It all started on my first hole when I started after the delay on 11, which was my second hole,” said Na, winless in six seasons on the PGA Tour. “Pulled my tee shot into the trees and I didn’t have a good lie in the rough. I had to go over the creek.

“And I told my caddie, I said, ‘I think I can get over the tree.’ He goes, ‘There’s no way you can get over the tree.’ We sat and argued there for a couple minutes. I said, ‘I can do it.’ He said, ‘No, you can’t.’

“He rarely says you can’t do something, so he made me pitch out, and I ended up making a 15-footer for par that kind of kept the round going. And after that I started to back down and started catching fire.”

Did he ever, birdieing the final five holes and nine of the last 12 for a 9-under 63 and a two-stroke lead over Retief Goosen, Scott Verplank and Joe Durant in the opening round that was delayed 7½ hours because of rain.

“Once in a while we get it,” said Na, coming off a seventh-place tie Sunday in Milwaukee — his seventh top-11 finish in 18 events this year.

After the long delay, 98 players were unable to finish the round, and 39 of them didn’t even begin play. Jimmy Walker was 6 under with four holes left when play was suspended because of darkness.

The horn signaling the suspension sounded at 8:46 p.m., with players having the option to finish a hole they started. Na was fast to tee off on No. 9, making sure he didn’t have to return early Friday to play one hole.

“That’s all I was hoping for,” said Na, the South Korean-born player who moved to the United States at age 8 and took up golf a year later. “I was just trying to get to the tee real quick and hit. Ended up being we had 10, 15 minutes to spare, but you never know when they’re going to call it.”

Mike Weir, trying to become the first Canadian to win the national championship since Pat Fletcher in 1954, opened with a 70.

“It was not what we wanted for this event,” Weir said. “It’s kind of playing soft — a dart show. It’s too bad because the course is really good. It’s in really good condition, but super soft.”

Na finished his first nine with birdies on the par-5 16th and 18th, also birdied Nos. 1 and 2 and closed with five in a row for a front-nine 28, matching the tournament record set by Vijay Singh on the same nine in the second round of his 2004 victory.

“The greens are holding, so you can get aggressive with the irons,” Na said. “But off the tee you must put yourself in the fairway. The rough is very thick.”

Durant aced No. 7.

“It was like 147 to the hole, which for me was kind of an in-between shot,” Durant said. “I hit a nice little smooth 8-iron. It hit about 4 feet past and drew back in.”

He also was relieved to finish the round.

“We were running the last couple holes to try to get done,” Durant said. “It’ll be nice to sleep in.”

Goosen played the four par 5s in 5 under, making eagle at the 13th.

“Thirteen hours from tee-off to finish,” said Goosen, coming off a fifth-place tie Sunday in the British Open. “I’ve been up since 4:30.”

After the round began on time at 7 a.m., rain forced the suspension of play at 8:38. The rain stopped just before noon and course workers needed more than 4 hours to drain the flooded bunkers and get the clay-based layout in shape.

“I had my manager go to the hotel and grab my computer,” Na said. “For a couple hours I watched TV shows that I downloaded, and just ate a couple times and went to the car and took a nap. I swear, I mean, I got to the 11th hole where I was starting and I looked at the guy and I said, ‘Man, it feels like Friday.’”

Because of the wet conditions after 1.3 inches of rain hit the course overnight and in the morning, players were allowed to use preferred lies in the fairways — just as they did in all four rounds last year in the rain-plagued event.

“If you play out here long enough, you’re going to have some days like this,” said Verplank, the 2001 winner at Royal Montreal. “So, you kind of figure out what to do, and just go with it.”