Anthony Kim expected to play at the LIV Golf event

The golf world’s great child prodigy, turned mysterious recluse, returns to the sport. Anthony Kim is expected to return to professional golf for the first time in 12 years, playing as a wildcard at this week’s LIV Golf event in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

LIV commissioner Greg Norman teased Kim’s return a video on social media on Monday, and Kim’s presence on the driving range did not go unnoticed on Tuesday. Sports Business Journal’s Josh Carpenter took a photo of a sign with Kim’s name, and then YouTube golfer Andy Carter posted a video of Kim’s range session on Instagram.

Kim, now 38, was once one of golf’s biggest rising stars, winning two PGA Tour events and making a Ryder Cup team at 23 behind exciting talent and a big personality who reached segments of fans that golf previously frequented was difficult to achieve. Injuries subsequently led to Kim retiring from professional golf at the age of 26 and never returning.

Kim has since become a cult figure, partly because he was such a popular player with enormous potential, but also because of the mystery that shrouded his absence. During his playing days, Kim was known as a partier who had a complicated relationship with how much he loved golf. So when his injuries led to his stepping away and reports surfaced that he was living off an insurance policy worth somewhere between $10 and $20 million, it only added to the fascination with whether or not he was actually incapacitated. to play.

So when Golf.com reported in January that Kim was eyeing a return and was in negotiations with both the PGA Tour and LIV, the intrigue only increased. Now Kim is finally returning and playing at LIV, a league backed by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, which can likely afford to give Kim a signing bonus to help with the insurance policy, in addition to huge event purses. Kim is expected to play as a single this week and not be part of LIV’s 13 teams.

The complicated element is what Kim’s return means and what to expect. Before Rory McIlroy and Jordan Spieth, Kim was the golf world’s big young prodigy who was expected to take some of Tiger Woods’ place in the golf world’s spotlight. The Los Angeles native played college golf at Oklahoma and played on a winning Walker Cup team before turning pro at age 22. Kim won two PGA Tour events at Quail Hollow and TPC Potomac in his second full professional season, becoming the first golfer under 25 to win two tour events in the same season since Woods in 2000. By the end of that 2008 season, Kim was 23, number 6 in the world and the rising star in the sport.

With an extremely aggressive playing style and an outgoing personality, Kim became an instant star in the demographics that golf didn’t always reach. He made the 2008 Ryder Cup team when he was 23 years old – young for a spot on that team at the time – and he famously dominated Sergio Garcia with a 5 and 4 thrashing when the US won for the first time in nine years. That following spring, Kim went to the 2009 Masters and broke the tournament record with 11 birdies in the second round. That might have been his highlight.

He never actually became the star he should have been. He won just one more event, the Houston Open, and slowly fell from No. 6 in the world, to 24, to 31, to 78 from 2008 to 2012. Injuries were probably a big part of that, but a big part of the memory Kim is probably rooted in 2008 rather than the general image.

He radiates incredible talent. The world has seen it in the past and now it is an honor to, as commissioner of LIV Golf, give this star the opportunity to be reborn. Welcome back and to the LIV Golf family companion. The golf world has missed you. pic.twitter.com/HNzsXPgFUp

— Greg Norman (@SharkGregNorman) February 26, 2024

Much of his rise came while playing due to a thumb injury, which Kim later said he compensated for and caused tendonitis in his wrist. In 2012, he withdrew from three tournaments and ultimately tore his left Achilles tendon.

But while his absence kept Kim from becoming the star some hoped for, it also meant he didn’t have to go through the normal ups and downs of a career. The shine eventually wears off all young players, but staying away meant being frozen in time as a beacon of potential.

However, this allows Kim to retain value. He’s of interest to so many that fans can tune into LIV to see what became of Kim. The next question is how long that interest will last if Kim doesn’t play well. That part is up to him.

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(Photo: Michael Cohen/Getty Images)