Tag: Jinichiro Kozuma

Jinichiro Kozuma leads the way after round one of LIV Golf Adelaide 2024

Catch up on the first-round action here.

The LIV Golf League is Down Under this week at The Grange Golf Club in Australia, and Jinichiro Kozuma holds a one-shot lead at 9 under. 

Kozuma made seven birdies and an eagle during his bogey-free effort and will tee off Saturday one shot ahead of Carlos Ortiz (8 under) and Danny Lee (8 under). Lee and Kozuma are both team members of Iron Heads GC.

“Today my putting was really good,” Kozuma told the media after signing his card. “It was really hot. I had some troubles here and there, but my putting was there to help me get through pars, and it was all about the putting today.”

Mito Pereira, Peter Uihlein, Andy Ogletree and Anirban Lahiri are tied for seventh at 7 under, while Matt Jones and Brendan Steele share eighth place at 6 under.

More: It’s a wild scene again at LIV Golf Adelaide. Here are the photos to prove it

As for the big names, Jon Rahm and Joaquin Niemann are 5 under and Bryson DeChambeau and Cam Smith are 4 under.

On the team side, Torque GC is 20 under and one shot ahead of the Iron Heads.

Meet the three players who earned 2024 status via the inaugural LIV Golf Promotions event in Abu Dhabi

The league welcomes three new players, including it’s first-ever from Japan.

Three new players have punched their LIV Golf tickets for 2024.

After three days of play and 72 holes of competition – including 36 on Sunday – Kalle Samooja, Kieran Vincent and Jinichiro Kozuma have advanced from the inaugural LIV Golf Promotions event at Abu Dhabi Golf Club and will have a spot on a team for the 2024 season.

Samooja, 35, has been a journeyman in professional golf and earned his first DP World Tour win in 2022 at the Porsche European Open. Vincent, 26, has primarily played on the Asian Tour and PGA Tour Canada in his young career. His lone professional win came back in April at the 2023 International Series Vietnam. Kozuma, 29, has played on the Japan Golf Tour since 2012 and has two wins under his belt, the 2020 Mitsui Sumitomo Visa Taiheiyo Masters and 2022 Token Homemate Cup.

The following players who finished Nos. 4-10 have earned exemptions into the 2024 International Series on the Asian Tour: Laurie Canter, Jaco Ahlers, Zach Bauchou, Poom Saksansin, Kevin Chappell, Martin Trainer, Suradit Yongcharoenchai.

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