GOLF: KEVIN NA admitted even he had lost count of how many shots he had taken on his way to a record 16 at the ninth hole of the Valero Texas Open during the opening round on Thursday.

The rare feat — a duodecuple bogey, or 12 over par — came after, among other misfortunes, an unplayable lie from his tee shot and a two-stroke penalty incurred after his ball hit a tree and rebounded onto him.

Initially scored as a 15 then changed on review, it was the worst score on a par-four hole in PGA Tour history and, to make matters worse, Na was wearing a microphone for the Golf Channel so his frustrations were broadcast for all to hear.

After finally exiting the trees and strolling to the green, Na and his caddie conceded they were struggling to tot up how many shots the South Korean-born American had taken.

Caddie: “I have no idea what you have.”

Na: “How are we going to count all the shots?”

Caddie: “I have no idea.”

Na: “I can’t keep track.”

Caddie: “They have it on tape so they can go back and count it.”

The pair eventually saw the funny side with Na bemoaning the number of rocks he encountered after missing the fairway.

He said: “My hand is numb, I hit so many rocks in there. Did you see how many rocks I hit? I have never hit that many rocks in my life.

He added with a laugh: “I think I made somewhere between a 10 and a 15 but somewhere closer to a 15.”

With the benefit of hindsight, his caddie said: “Next time I say ‘let’s go back to the tee’, let’s go back to the tee!”

Na eventually finished with an eight-over-par 80, after which he told www.pgatour.com: “I feel like I’m playing somewhat decent and it was one shot — actually two, but one that started the whole thing and it was one bad hole and that’s what’s crazy about this game. One bad hole can basically shoot you out of the tournament. That’s what I just did.”

The 27-year-old, who was three under for the nine holes after his horror show on the ninth, was proud of the way he bounced back.

“I think I handled myself pretty well,” he said, “I hit a lot of good shots and didn’t make another bogey afterwards. It just shows you how well I took it.”

Na was left to rue one big misjudgment.

“I wish I went back and re-teed it again and I might have made eight,” he said. “That’s four over. That’s what, even par or something?”