Not that anyone should’ve expected Anthony Kim to light the world of golf on fire after 12 years away from competition, but he did get off to a rather discouraging start while knocking off the rust in his first handful of rounds.
However, Kim maintained that he was making steady improvements, and over the course of three days at LIV Golf Hong Kong, he steadily improved from a 76 opening round, to a 72 in Round 2, and then came up huge with a five-under 65 on Sunday to finish 50th.
AK finishing strong 💪@AnthonyKim_Golf fires a 5-under 65 in only his 6th professional round back 🤝#LIVGolf pic.twitter.com/8L2lSzuQDR
— LIV Golf (@livgolf_league) March 10, 2024
That may not seem like some crowning achievement, yet when you hear how grateful Kim was afterwards just to be playing, you can’t help but wonder just what the hell he’s been up to all these years and what he had to go through to get back.
Anthony Kim seems at peace with his past & is ready to only look forward in his life & golf career. Welcome back AK. -5 👀 pic.twitter.com/9bzCM0QCmI
— LIV Golf Enthusiast (@LIVGolfEnth) March 10, 2024
Any moral victories are welcome at this point, and Kim actually tied for the fifth-lowest score carded on Sunday. That’s pretty awesome.
The man who once made 11 birdies in a single round at The Masters proved he still has plenty of game, and can still go low despite such a lengthy hiatus. After playing his last 15 holes in one under par on Saturday, Kim carried that momentum into the last round.
You can check out some of his most notable highlights below, which included a run of three consecutive birdies before a nice par save at his finishing hole.
The vast majority of golf Twitter is rallying around AK in the aftermath of his impressive showcase, where we saw shades of the former superstar who once seemed destined to win multiple majors.
A 65 from Anthony Kim is pretty cool!
— Kevin Van Valkenburg (@KVanValkenburg) March 10, 2024
Good morning it truly is the Lord’s Day because Anthony Kim shot 65
— claire rogers (@kclairerogers) March 10, 2024
HELLO HATERS, Anthony Kim shot 65 today.
— Alex Myers (@AlexMyers3) March 10, 2024
Good news on the Anthony Kim front; dude shot 65 in the final round of the LIV event in China!
Huge improvement from his opening week; @AndyTFE has been beating the "how many birdies is he making" drum for AK; one birdie in round one, four in round two, and 7 in the final round.
— Shane Bacon (@shanebacon) March 10, 2024
Live look at Anthony Kim: pic.twitter.com/eoPeG1lvPQ
— Bryan Tweed (@BryanTweed16) March 10, 2024
I have two weeks off and shoot 85
Anthony Kim has TWELVE YEARS off and then beats Jon Rahm, Brooks Koepka, Cam Smith, Bryson DeChambeau and, very importantly, Taylor Gooch. pic.twitter.com/bezasRuYtk
— Hannah Holden (@HannahHoldenNCG) March 10, 2024
Anthony Kim with a final round 65 at the LIV event in Hong Kong.
Pretty impressive considering he was away from the game for 12 years.
Just as the 76's didn't mean he can't come back, this 65, doesn't mean he can.
But its a sign there is parts of the old AK.— Monday Q Info (@acaseofthegolf1) March 10, 2024
While you were sleeping, Anthony Kim made seven birdies and shot 65 at LIV Hong Kong.
Not quite the round of the day, but close! Finished 50th out of 54.
Figured his next competitive round wouldn’t be until LIV Miami, but he’s entered the Asian Tour’s Macau next week.
— Sean Zak (@Sean_Zak) March 10, 2024
As you can see in that last tweet, Kim is actually teeing it up next week on the Asian Tour at the Macau Open, where he’ll gain even more invaluable reps in competition. If there’s any skepticism about what he’s done so far and what lies ahead for AK’s future, consider the following report that states just how on-the-fly Kim is building his golf game at the moment:
Just spoke with Anthony Kim’s caddie and he still hasn’t been fit for equipment, so they have no idea what his consistent numbers are yet. Theres huge potential for improvement there and they’re looking to do it before his return to the US at Doral.
— Flushing It (@flushingitgolf) March 10, 2024
What kind of clubs is Kim using? Rentals? This makes his already-intriguing return all the more fascinating to me. Whenever he gets around to being properly fitted for a set of irons and longer clubs, he figures to improve a great deal.
One stick he shouldn’t take out of the bag is his putter, though, because Kim was on fire with that blade in Hong Kong.
Anthony Kim led the field in putting #LIVGolf Hong Kong and holed approximately 150 feet of putts in the final round.
"The first two days I didn't feel like I made a lot of putts, but today I putted really well. Saw the line well and just trusted my reads." pic.twitter.com/is9JN4TFqd
— Mike McAllister (@thegolfeditor) March 10, 2024
How can you not root for Anthony Kim? Just hoping he can keep improving, keep his head on straight, and dazzle us longtime fans at least a few more times on big stages within the next several years. Safe to say he took a huge step forward toward that reality on Sunday.
