Jinichiro Kozuma was released from LIV Golf ahead of the start of the new season after the Iron Heads GC was rebranded to an all-Korean players team. The Japanese golfer had a decent time playing last season. He settled in 32nd place in the season standings.
Considering his good form, fans were expecting him to play in 2026. But he was released.

The Saudi league has signed Byeong Hun An as the new captain, and the team now consists of Danny Lee, Younghan Song, and Minkyu Kim. Jinichiro Kozuma opened up about the league in an exclusive interview with Sports Illustrated. He said:

“Rather than receiving a clear, official explanation like ‘this is the specific reason we are not renewing your contract,’ I felt that team restructuring and overall direction played a major role in the decision. To better understand what the options might be for next season, I reached out directly to several general managers to see whether there could be an opportunity for me to join their teams.

“What I found was that teams seemed to be building their rosters not only based on results but also based on team identity and the type of player profile they were looking for. In that sense, I think it was simply difficult to find the right fit for me within the available team openings at that time,” he added.

Jinichiro Kozuma joined the LIV Golf league in 2024 through the Promotions event. He only played in limited tournaments last season and had decent finishes, including a runner-up at Dallas.

“Unexpected for me,” Jinichiro Kozuma on Kevin Na

The Iron Heads GC captain, Kevin Na, is also not returning to play in the LIV Golf 2026 season. Jinichiro Kozuma opened up about him in an interview with Sports Illustrated this week. He said:’

“There were definitely a few parts of the process that surprised me. For example, I only found out recently that Kevin Na would no longer be the captain, so that was unexpected for me as well. Also, since last year, I personally didn’t receive any direct communication from the Iron Heads organization.

“Because of that, there was a period where it was difficult to fully understand what the situation was. So overall, the way things unfolded was a bit unexpected, and I was simply trying to stay patient and figure out the best next steps.”

Jinichiro Kozuma had played on the LIV Golf in 2024. He started the campaign back then with a T38 finish at the Mayakoba event and then settled in T34 at the Las Vegas event.
Some of his notable finishes from the 2024 season are T20 at the Greenbrier and T15 at the Chicago event. The new LIV Golf season is gearing up for its start next month.