Axed LIV Golf captain opens up on shock exit: "I'm happy to move on"

Former LIV Golf captain Kevin Na has opened up on being dropped from the league. 

Na, 42, was among the first wave of players to be recruited by the PIF-backed breakaway in 2022. 

The American was assigned the captaincy of the Iron Heads quartet and spent four seasons with LIV until he was dropped at the end of last season. 

Na was replaced by PGA Tour journeyman Byeong Hun An and the team was re-named Korean Golf Club. 

Like Brooks Koepka, he has already been reinstated by the PGA Tour but is waiting on when he will be given permission to tee up again. 

According to a memo written by Tyler Dennis, chief competitions officer of the PGA Tour, Na is still facing "disciplinary action for outstanding violations of the regulations." 

Na told reporters ahead of this week's New Zealand Open that he is ruling out attempting to return to LIV in the future. 

And he wasn't critical of the league, despite appearing to be unceremoniously dumped. 

"I enjoyed it," he said. "I thought it was great. I think LIV is a great product.

"I think it was a part of my life and I gave it all while I was there, but I'm happy to move on. I'm excited about my next chapter. I'm really looking forward to my next chapter. I'm excited."

Na wouldn't reveal he needs to do before making his PGA Tour return. 

"I think it's one step at a time," he said. "Obviously, the PGA Tour is an amazing place. I really enjoyed my 19 years there. We'll see how it goes."

Na isn't the only former LIV player to have his membership reinstated. 

Pat Perez will return to action from 1 January 2027, likely on the PGA Tour Champions. Hudson Swafford is able to return to PGA Tour-sanctioned competition from the same date.

Patrick Reed also quit LIV Golf and will return to the PGA Tour later this year.

Ex-LIV Golf player receives PGA Tour exemption

Former LIV Golf player Eugenio Chacarra received positive news on Tuesday. 

The Spanish pro, 25, has accepted a sponsor invite into next week's Puerto Rico Open. 

The tournament is the alternate event opposite the signature Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill. 

It's a big deal for Chacarra, who will become one of the first ex-LIV Golf players to tee up in a Tour event since the schism in the men's game began. 

Chacarra, who departed LIV at the end of 2024, made it clear he was grateful for his time on the breakaway. 

But he also tore into the league, explaining that the league failed to deliver on their promise to secure Official World Golf Ranking points and access to the major championships. 

"Yeah, obviously very thankful for the opportunity," Chacarra said. "My goal since I was little is to be on the PGA Tour.

"The next step in my career is to hopefully make it on the PGA Tour and to win on the PGA Tour.

"Like I’ve said, I think I was losing a little motivation to get better out there on LIV at the last year I was there, so it was time for me to move on and start a new pathway in my professional career.

"Obviously LIV didn’t exist when I was little, I grew up watching the DP World Tour and the PGA Tour, and that’s what I dream of playing and winning, and that's what my heart and my ambition was, so we thought it was the best for me to move forward and try to get on the PGA Tour."