Former PGA Tour phenom Anthony Kim will make his long-hoped-for return to professional golf at LIV Golf Jeddah in Saudi Arabia next week. The news of Kim’s return was first reported by Golf Channel.
Soon after he burst onto the scene, Kim became arguably golf’s most exciting emerging star since Tiger Woods. He won three PGA Tour titles before turning 25 (the last being the 2010 Shell Houston Open). He set the Augusa National record with 11 birdies in the final round of The Masters in 2010 and helped the Americans win the 2008 Ryder Cup and 2009 Presidents Cup. He secured a lucrative Nike deal.
Kim’s next two years were marred by injuries, unstable performance, and psychological battles. He tore his Achilles during the 2012 Wells Fargo Championship and hasn’t entered a pro tournament since. He’s largely avoided the public eye, becoming somewhat of a modern folk hero within golf lore. In a rare interview in 2015, he called golf a “fond memory.”
Kim, 38, has reportedly been mulling a return for several months, but was wary of voiding a $10 million insurance policy. He engaged in talks with LIV Golf and the PGA Tour, according to GOLF.com.
Kim will enter as a “wildcard” in Jeddah — a new LIV wrinkle that allows players to compete without affiliation to one of the league’s 13 teams.
The three-day, no-cut event begins on Friday, March 1.
LIV Golf Jeddah will be the third event of the league’s third season. Masters invitee Joaquin Niemann and Jon Rahm’s Legion XIII team earned first-place finishes in Mayakoba. Dustin Johnson and Brooks Koepka’s Smash GC squad won in LIV Las Vegas over Super Bowl LVIII weekend.
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