Following four full seasons with the LIV Golf League, Kevin Na‘s stint surprisingly ended earlier this month when it was confirmed Byeong Hun An would be the new captain of Korean GC – formerly known as Iron Heads GC.
Despite a dip in form, Na finished the year in the Open Zone and was thought to be returning in 2026 as captain of his side before the sudden change.
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The move did not arrive out of thin air, however, with one report claiming there was “drama going on” inside Na’s team prior to the announcement. Around the same time, Na had also unfollowed both the Iron Heads and LIV Golf on social media.
While Danny Lee remains a part of the rebranded franchise, Na joined Jinichiro Kozuma and Yubin Jang in losing their LIV Golf status as Korean GC makes major changes ahead of its debut year.
WHERE DOES THIS LEAVE NA?
The 42-year-old five-time PGA Tour winner is arguably the second biggest name to have fully departed the PIF-backed circuit since its inception, checking in just behind Brooks Koepka who opted to pack his bags towards the end of last year.
Although Koepka again trumps Na in terms of Majors and overall career earnings, the Korean-born pro has hardly struggled since joining the paid ranks in 2001 as a result of nine professional wins and almost $38 million in Official PGA Tour Money. Add on his LIV Golf earnings and it’s a pretty successful career.
Nevertheless, Na finds himself in an awkward position now because he does not qualify for the PGA Tour’s Returning Member Program and is therefore likely to be banned from all the tour’s associated tournaments until at least September of this year.
His obvious remaining options in the short-term are, therefore, either A) play on the Asian Tour and try to make the most of each start on the elevated International Series or B) ask for sponsor’s invites to as many DP World Tour events as he can throughout 2026.
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Should he finish in the leading places on the Asian Tour’s International Series then he could gain promotion back to LIV. Good play on either tour could result in Na taking the next step in his career again without the need for any unique exemption categories.
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Alternatively, successfully applying for DP World Tour membership and then earning enough Race To Dubai points to finish inside the top-10 non-exempt players in the standings would allow him to claim one of the PGA Tour cards on offer.
KEVIN NA’S ROUTE BACK TO THE PGA TOUR
Perhaps more realistically, though, Na’s mid to long-term future likely lies back on the PGA Tour.
Given his total earnings on the PGA Tour remains at just under $38 million despite four years away, Na would – in theory – sit 34th in the PGA Tour’s Career Money list and be eligible for a one-time full-status exemption from 2027, just like Vijay Singh has used in 2026.
According to the PGA Tour handbook, “players among the Top 50 in career earnings as of the end of the preceding season may elect to use a one-time exemption for the next season.”
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If Na didn’t want to use that right away, he could also try to Monday qualify for events – although those have been streamlined – from the time his ban expires, ask for sponsor’s exemptions into multiple regular tournaments or he could play a full season elsewhere and enter PGA Tour Q-School in December.
A final option would be to tee it up on the Korn Ferry Tour and try to graduate that way. But, given the form Na produced on LIV in 2025, there is no guarantee he would bounce right back to where he’d like to be straight away.
At this stage, it seems most likely that Na will follow in the footsteps of Singh and give himself a full year of opportunities on the PGA Tour in 2027 via his Career Money achievement in order to resume his career alongside Scottie Scheffler and co.