JPN
Jinichiro Kozuma: LIV Golf graduate enjoying the big stage
Nobody could suggest that Jinichiro Kozuma had an easy passage on his way to joining the LIV Golf League for 2024.
In fact, the Japanese pro golfer took the longest route possible, after fighting his way out of the pack of 73 hopefuls who teed off at the inaugural LIV Golf Promotions event in December 2023.
Kozuma qualified along with Finland’s Kalle Samooja and Kieran Vincent from Zimbabwe, but while the other two players received a first-round bye for matching certain eligibility criteria, Kozuma had to play all four rounds at the Abu Dhabi Golf Club.
There was the added pressure of the field being narrowed to the top 20 players for a marathon 36-hole Sunday and while Samooja emerged as the outright winner to confirm his place with LIV for 2024, Kozuma, Vincent and Laurie Canter had to endure a three-man playoff to decide the final two spots available.
It was Canter who fell away at the second playoff hole, opening the door for Vincent and Kazouma, who had enjoyed a taste of life at LIV Golf in 2022 after making three starts during the inaugural Invitational Series.
“I wanted to come back again for sure,” Kozuma said, “and to be real now, it’s like a dream.”
Influence of golfing sister Kotono
Influence of golfing sister Kotono
Jinichiro Kozuma was born in Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan on July 7, 1994, and has an older sister, Kotono Kozuma, who is a professional golfer with the Japan LPGA.
He turned professional in 2012 at the age of 18 and learned his trade on the Japan Challenge Tour, which is the national golf association’s development series.
Jinichiro landed his first Tour win as a professional at the 2016 Elite Grips Challenge, a two-round tournament which he topped by a stroke after sinking seven birdies in a bogey-free second-round 65.
That meant he and Kotono had become just the second pair of siblings to have claimed wins in Japanese pro golf.
His first victory on the top tier Japan Golf Tour was the 2020 Mitsui Sumitomo Visa Taiheiyo Masters in November, a one-stroke win snatched at the very last hole with an eagle on the par-5 18th .
It earned Kozuma a public message of support from sister Kotono, published on the official Japan Golf Tour website.
Roughly translated it read: “Dear brother, congratulations for your victory.
“The magnificent eagle on the final 18th hole was very much your style and made me happy with goosebumps.
“I know all of your rival players have won already and that has put many pressures on you.
“I saw you were always optimistic and practise so hard. I am so happy for you.
“I see you as a rival too and a comrade. You motivate me.
“So let’s keep on the hard road and let us both grab our second and third victories soon.”
For Jinichiro, that next win arrived in the 2021 Kyusyu Open at Saga Classic Golf Club.
His second official JGT win came in April 2022 at the Token Homemate Cup, where he led from the second round but needed a playoff on the 18th hole to beat his nearest challenger Yuto Katsuragawa.
That propelled him to 94th in the Official World Golf Ranking, a career best.
That same year he was one of the professional golfers offered the chance to take part in some early events in the LIV Golf Invitational Series.
Kozuma featured in the LIV London launch event in June, finishing in 16th place and later in the month took 6th in Portland, before making his final appearance in Bedminster, finishing 28th.
The next big step in the Japanese pro golfer’s career came courtesy of the LIV Golf Promotions event in December 2023 in the United Arab Emirates, from which he emerged with a golden ticket for the LIV Golf League in 2024.
First full season with LIV Golf
First full season with LIV Golf
Kozuma was selected to join Iron Heads GC under captain Kevin Na, a five-time PGA Tour winner, along with teammates Danny Lee and Scott Vincent, brother of Kieran.
At LIV Golf Adelaide in April, in front of an upbeat Aussie crowd, Kozuma birdied his first three holes on Friday at the Grange Golf Club on his way to a bogey-free round of 63 to become the overnight leader at 9 under.
He eventually finished the event T9, his best individual performance of the LIV Golf season.
It was a tough year for the Iron Heads, but just when they looked to be down and out, they switched to another gear.
At the LIV Golf Team Championship finale in Dallas, the bottom seeds beat heavily favored Brooks Koepka’s Smash GC in the quarterfinals.
They created an even bigger shock in the semis, taking down Bryson DeChambeau’s defending champion Crushers GC to secure a place among the top four teams for Championship Sunday.
Kozuma matched his captain’s score of a 3-under 69 but the team had to settle for a share of the runner-up spot with 4Aces GC, while Ripper GC took the Tam Championship.
Winning the 2024 Sansan KBC Augusta
Winning the 2024 Sansan KBC Augusta
A week after finishing T20 at LIV Golf Greenbrier in August, Kozuma was back on the Japan Golf Tour, competing in the KBC Augusta at Keya Golf Club.
He went into the Sunday from a position of strength, having shot 68, 66 and 66 in the opening three rounds, and eventually topped Yuwa Kosaihira in a playoff on Sunday, cheered on by family in the crowd.
“This is the first time my family is watching me in contention on the final day, I wanted to win it so badly for them.
“Winning in front of my family has always been a goal and I’m glad I achieved it today.”
It was Kozuma’s third title on the Japan Golf Tour.
