Na

LOS ANGELES — Kevin Na already has two top-five finishes this season and has racked up nearly $500,000 in earnings. Not bad for a guy who has played the last five weeks without being able to see where his ball goes after he hits it.

Na, who grew up in Diamond Bar, had Lasik surgery in December. Unfortunately for him, the surgery didn't go too well.

"I was seeing 20/100 up until last week," Na said. "On Tuesday during the week of Pebble Beach, I was home and saw my doctor and he OK'd me to wear contacts. Last week was the first week I was able to see somewhat decent.

"I'm very excited and happy about my start, but it's just unfortunate that my eyesight wasn't good, especially at the FBR Open. Coming down the stretch on Sunday it was cloudy. I had difficulty seeing the greens and I think it really cost me the win (he finished fourth)."

With contacts in place for Thursday's opening round of the Northern Trust Open at Riviera Country Club, Na's improved vision allowed him to fire a 5-under 66, leaving him one stroke behind leader K.J. Choi, who opened with a 6-under 65.

Westlake High graduate Charlie Wi opened with a 1-under 70, while Oxnard native Corey Pavin posted a 4-over 75. Play was called due to darkness at 5:41 with 17 players still on the course.

Before getting the approval to use the contacts, Na was unable to do much for himself. He had to be chauffeured around off the course. On the course he had to count on his caddie to tell him where his shot landed and what how well it was struck.

During his practice sessions at the range, Na would hit a shot and then look at his caddie to see which way he was leaning to know where the shot was going.

While he was able to handle things off the tee without much problem, Na felt the biggest challenge came with his putting and chipping.

"Ten feet and in I'm not too bad," Na said. "But when I had long putts I had real difficulty lagging my them because I couldn't get the feedback with my eyes.

" And 100 yards and in, those feel shots, you can't really judge the distance with your eyes."

Na doesn't blame his doctor for what happened because his eyesight was terrible before the surgery. He used to wake up and have to put the alarm clock a few inches from him face just to see any of it.

But like any world-class athlete, Na's eyes are crucial to his success, so even before the surgery he was leery of what could happen.

"He (his doctor) did say I'm pretty confident that we can do it in one (surgery),' " Na said. "He threw it out to me that there is a chance you might not see 20/20 after the first surgery. You know what, even though it didn't work out for me, I don't blame anybody. (But) I guess I won't be singing autograph pictures and putting it up on his wall."

With Na talking so much about his eyesight, it was ironic that Choi, the player Na trails after the first round, credited his strong opening round on his ability to read Riviera's very challenging greens.

During the past six years of playing here, Choi has struggled to figure out which way putts would break. He said some greens look like the putt will slice and it hooks. On others, it's just the opposite.

"What I did most of the day was I putted as I saw it," Choi said. "And I think that what made the difference."

Choi's improved putting on Riviera's Poa Annua greens allowed him to post a bogey-free round. Choi was fortunate to play early before the really strong winds hit later in the afternoon.

"Starting out in the morning, the wind was pretty calm," Choi said. " But as the day went by, the wind started changing and I think a lot of the players are having a little bit of a difficult afternoon compared to the morning."