Kevin Na Set For First DP World Tour Start In Over Five Years

After four seasons with LIV Golf, Kevin Na left the circuit in January, weeks before the 2026 season began.

Since then, the American has only played twice. His first start since leaving the league came in March at the New Zealand Open, which is co-sanctioned by the Asian Tour and PGA Tour of Australasia.

A week later, he played again, at the ISPS Handa Japan-Australasia Championship, which is organized by the Japan Golf Tour and the PGA Tour of Australasia.

Now, he appears to be stepping up his comeback with his first DP World Tour appearance in over five years at the week’s Volvo China Open, which will take place between April 23rd and 26th.

Na is in the field on a professional tournament invitation, marking his first start on the circuit since the Saudi International in February 2021, when he finished T21.

The former Iron Heads GC captain will be looking for a strong performance to give his world ranking a welcome boost, with the 42-year-old currently languishing in 1,121st.

That’s largely because, during his LIV Golf career, he rarely played elsewhere, with only eight world ranking appearances, two of which resulted in missed cuts at Majors with six starts on the Asian Tour.

Na, who was 34th in the world when he signed for LIV Golf, will be joined at the event by more notable names, including defending champion Ashun Wu and another former LIV Golfer, Eugenio Chacarra.

Na’s departure from LIV Golf came soon after another of its captains, Smash GC’s Brooks Koepka, also left the circuit.

However, Koepka was able to make an immediate return to the PGA Tour via its Returning Member Program, which was open to players who had been off the Tour for more than two years and won either a Major or The Players Championship from 2022 to 2025.

Another big name to leave LIV Golf before the start of the 2026 season was Patrick Reed, who played for 4Aces GC.

Like Na, he also didn’t qualify for the Returning Member Program, meaning he isn’t eligible to return to the PGA Tour until his 12-month suspension for playing on LIV Golf has ended.

Reed, who is not in the field for the Volvo China Open, is an honorary lifetime member on the DP World Tour, and currently leads its Race to Dubai standings, where the top 10 players not otherwise exempt at the end of the season will all earn PGA Tour cards.