We don’t have anywhere near all the answers to the myriad questions about Anthony Kim and why he walked away from professional golf during what should’ve been his prime years. It sure sounds like the man went through some dark times, though. Kim has promised his full story will be revealed in an upcoming documentary, but ahead of the LIV Golf Miami tournament, he gave as compelling of a press conference as you’re ever bound to hear.
Once Kim withdrew from the Wells Fargo Championship in 2012, nobody knew that’d be the last time we’d see him playing in a pro event for 12 years. The man unplugged from the sport that saw him become a Ryder Cup hero, a multiple PGA Tour winner and a probable future major champion had he stayed on the straight and narrow.
Instead, he’s just finding out in April 2024 that Brooks Koepka is a back-to-back major victor.
Kim also revealed that he was barely aware of Tiger Woods winning The Masters in 2019, which is right up there with the biggest moments in the history of the game.
In fact, once he was recovering from surgery back in 2012 and thought there was a chance he couldn’t play again, he was more than happy to get rid of all his equipment to the first person who’d come take it off his hands.
There’s a certain humor in all of this, because Kim was a legitimate superstar when he walked away from golf, yet he couldn’t care less. After such a long hiatus, he had some previously-unrevealed adversity before making his LIV debut that made the road to a comeback even harder.
But the biggest takeaway from Kim’s captivating presser was his admission that, amid many bad moments over the past decade-plus, he was literally told by doctors that he might not have much longer to live.
If that doesn’t make you want to root for somebody now that Kim has come out the other side, is married and has a young daughter who inspires him every day, I don’t know if you’re into redemptive human interest stories in sports or otherwise at all. What I do know is, that Anthony Kim documentary is going to be appointment viewing for anyone who has a mere casual interest in golf. While it’s a little frustrating that he can’t reveal more, that Kim has described a brush with death offers a tease as to how deep the rabbit hole will go.
The comeback has been a bit of a rocky road for Kim thus far. However, it’s incredible that he’s already carded a round of 65 in competition. He still has plenty of game left in him. To me, it feels like more a matter of whether his body can hold up to compete for the long haul and put in the work necessary to get anywhere near the elite level he was once at in his 20s.
Best of luck to AK in Miami. He’s piqued my interest in LIV Golf by himself more than all the other superstars who’ve joined the fledgling league. Here’s hoping Kim drops that documentary before the end of 2024.
Watch the full conversation:
