Decorated golfer to play in LIV event after quiet 12-year hiatus
In May 2012, 26-year-old Anthony Kim withdrew from the Wells Fargo Championship due to an Achilles tendon injury. He had surgery a month later and quietly slipped away from professional golf.
Until now.
Kim, 38, has ended his mysterious, 12-year hiatus to play this week in LIV Golf Jeddah at Royal Greens Golf and Country Club. The American will join the league as a wild-card player and attempt to play his way to full-time status.
If you're unfamiliar with the legend of Kim — or A.K. — allow us to paint the picture.
Kim was a golf phenom growing up in La Quinta, Calif. A star high school and junior golfer, he went on to play at the University of Oklahoma and set the school record for the lowest career scoring average.
Kim made his PGA Tour debut at the 2006 Valero Texas Open as a 21-year-old, finishing in a tie for second. He notched 10 top-25 finishes and three top-fives in his rookie season in 2007, but the next year, Kim turned his tantalizing ability into results.
In 2008, A.K. won the Wachovia Championship by five shots. Two months later, he won the AT&T National. He finished the season with nine top-10 finishes and ranked third on the PGA Tour in total strokes gained, 11th in driving distance and fourth in scoring average. He was also the youngest member of the U.S. Ryder Cup team at Valhalla Golf Club, where the swaggering Kim dominated European star Sergio Garcia in Sunday singles to help lead the Americans to victory.
The following year, Kim made his Masters debut, setting a record for the most birdies in a round with 11 on Friday — a mark that still stands. Then he went 3-1 for the United States at the 2009 Presidents Cup, tacked on another win at the 2010 Shell Houston Open and finished solo third at The Masters a week later.
After two injury-plagued seasons in 2011 and 2012, Kim was gone almost as quickly as he arrived.
In a LIV Golf video posted to X this week, a stoic Kim — donning a "Girl Dad" T-shirt and walking with his young daughter — said he's excited to feel the competitive juices pump through his veins again.
"I think I missed the competitive part of the game. I wouldn't just say it was golf," he said in the video. "Just being in the heat of the moment and having an opportunity to do something special, and I'm looking forward to having that opportunity again."
As for what Kim has been doing all these years, the time will come for those questions to be answered.
A.K. will make his highly anticipated return Friday at LIV Golf Jeddah.
"I'll tell my story when it's the right time, but right now I'm focused on golf," Kim said.
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