Kevin Na sets pace at Players Championship

— -- PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. --  Kevin Na likes to go fast. Let's keep this just between us, because he wouldn't want to receive any retroactive discipline from the authorities, but Na once got his old Lamborghini -- the "Lambo," he calls it -- up to 170 mph while driving from Los Angeles to Las Vegas during daylight hours. And here's the kicker: He's never gotten a speeding ticket. He's never even gotten pulled over.

Consider it the antithesis of his golf career. Over the years, Na has earned a reputation for going interminably slow inside the ropes and getting cited by every observer around.

This week marks the three-year anniversary of the nadir of that reputation, a Players Championship title contention that ended with a final-round 76 and single-handedly brought the pace of play issue to the forefront of the golf industry's agenda. It was painful to watch. Na couldn't bring the club back without stopping, going through his routine and trying again. He often jogged in between shots to make up for the length of time he spent over them.

Looking back on it now, he offers a blunt assessment of his problems.

"I had the yips," he says casually. "That's what it was."

With opening rounds of 67-69 to tie with Jerry Kelly for the Players lead heading into the weekend, Na is already being forced to address that reputation. He's already answering questions about how he went from barely being able to swing the club to speeding up his routine and continuing to post enviable scores.

So far he's faced them like a series of uphill two-footers.

"I admitted it," he says. "I didn't use that word, yips, but I told everyone that I couldn't take the club back. I mean, I was pretty honest. I wasn't trying to cover anything up. ... A lot of the guys, when you have that, they fall off the planet. They play poorly and nobody really sees and hears about it. But the weird case was I was playing one of my best golf and I couldn't take the club back. And the whole world saw me do it, so, believe me, I hear enough about it."

He even treats that struggle with a few grains of salt these days. When asked to explain the phenomenon, he shrugs as a broad smile washes across his face, then counters, "Do you want to open up my brain and check it out?"

If Na hasn't exactly sped up to Brandt Snedeker-like levels, he's certainly moving faster than he did three years ago.

Even so, his reputation precedes him. There have been a few times this year when his group was put on the clock for slow play, despite keeping pace. During Friday's second round, a rules official alerted his threesome on the ninth tee that it was on the clock. A recurrence of those old habits? Nope, just the byproduct of an earlier ruling that threw the group off pace.

To his credit, Na has never hidden from the criticism. He's never made excuses or placed blame elsewhere.

And in a unique twist of fate, that might have spectators here at TPC Sawgrass pulling for him this weekend.

"We're seeing more support now than ever, because of his honesty," says Kenny Harms, his longtime caddie. "He was slow. Is he still slow? A little bit, but he's working on it, which is important. He's embracing it. He admits it. How many guys out here admit that they're slow? Not many -- and not many will tell you that they're working on it. He's honestly working on it. He changed his whole routine."

Na readily admits that he still has about 5 percent of the yips left in him, but he's taken severe measures to rid himself of what's been termed as a physiological issue.

While most afflicted with this problem would condemn it for hurting their careers, Na views it differently.

"I think because I went through that, I'm a better player now," he explains. "I hope people get over that and see me as just a guy that's playing well on tour versus a guy that couldn't take the club back. I really hope that one day I keep playing well, keep winning golf tournaments, and they talk about my wins and they talk about my good play."

Na doesn't drive that Lamborghini anymore. He's settled into an SUV and insists that he's mellowed out on the highway. He's not the slowest driver, but he's no longer the fastest.

Meanwhile, he's sped up on the golf course. Ever the antithesis to his life, he isn't the fastest golfer around, but he's no longer the slowest one, either.