The mysterious disappearance and return of golf’s forgotten star, Anthony Kim, now with LIV

The former PGA Tour supernova, who exploded into stardom with his booming drives and a bunch of wins in his early 20s, hasn’t competed in a pro tournament since 2012. And the longer he has been absent from golf, the more Kim has been mythologised.

His abrupt departure made him the game’s enduring mystery, and created a new pastime for golf insiders: whispering about the possibility that he might one day return to the game — or why he would never step into a tee box as a pro again.

Now Kim is poised to make his long-anticipated comeback, and he has picked somewhere far from the PGA Tour spotlight to emerge from the shadows: Saudi Arabia.

Kim, now 38 years old, is set to compete this week in his first professional event since 2012 at LIV Golf Jeddah, according to people familiar with the matter. That makes him the latest splashy addition for the Saudi-backed circuit, which wooed Masters champion Jon Rahm away from the PGA Tour to bolster its line-up before the season.

While Rahm and other A-list golfers poached by LIV brought a rush of prestige to the upstart circuit, Kim brings something completely different, but perhaps equally tantalising: a guaranteed sighting of golf’s equivalent of the Yeti.

Fittingly, there’s a huge amount of uncertainty about what exactly that will look like. After spending so long away from the game, Kim’s return will finally settle one of the sport’s most enduring questions: Is he still any good at golf?

There was a time when absolutely nobody would have doubted the answer to that. Shortly after the California-born golfer turned pro in 2006, he emerged as one of the brightest young talents in the sport. As a rookie, he notched four top-10s on the PGA Tour and finished tied for 20th at his first major, the 2007 U.S. Open.

When he won his first professional event the next year, at what’s now known as the Wells Fargo Championship, he was just 22 years old and the youngest winner on the Tour in years. His victory also set a new tournament record by three shots — besting the previous mark set by another young hotshot named Tiger Woods.

“I’m a little bit numb right now, but that walk up 18 was the best feeling in my entire life, and I’ll never forget that feeling. I had chills going up and down my spine,” Kim said after the win. “I want to recreate that as many times as possible now.”

The world of golf expected that Kim would have no trouble doing that. The kid who sported an oversized belt buckle with his initials “AK” notched his second career victory just a couple months after his first. When he finished the 2008 season by tying for third in the Tour Championship, he shot up to No. 6 in the world rankings and no longer looked like just another gifted up and comer. He looked like one of the best golfers on the planet.

Even though he didn’t continue winning at the same clip, Kim continued to impress. In the second round of the 2009 Masters, he set a single-round record for the most birdies (11), which still stands to this day. The next April, he won his third PGA Tour event before the age of 25.

But just as quickly as he ascended, Kim started to fade away — almost before anyone realised it. An operation on his thumb caused him to miss a big chunk of the 2010 season. It was viewed at the time as a temporary fix to get him back for the Ryder Cup at the end of that year, but he didn’t end up making the team.

The next year, his form only got worse. In 2011, he made just 14 cuts in 26 appearances and wound up with only two top-10 finishes. To start 2012, he made only two cuts in 10 starts. When he bowed out early from the Wells Fargo, it was the third straight tournament at which he had been forced to withdraw. He soon underwent another surgery, this time to repair a ruptured Achilles tendon.

He hasn’t competed professionally since.

Over the following 12 years, Kim became golf’s great enigma. He made only rare public appearances, and whenever he was spotted it invariably led to rampant speculation about a possible return. In 2015, in his first interview in years, he said he’d had a half dozen surgeries over the previous years and hadn’t played a full round of golf in 18 months.

Fans didn’t give up hope. When Kim appeared in an Instagram post with his longtime coach captioned “2021 is going to be special,” it was another sign he could be on his way back.

The return didn’t materialise.

But in Kim’s time away from the game, the sport and its economics have changed radically. Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund began pumping billions into the game when it launched LIV in 2022. Facing a new competitor, the Tour also had to up its prize money and now has received an investment from a high-profile collective of investors that promises to further line players’ pockets.

In addition to the lucrative prize funds it offers to small, no-cut fields, LIV has also offered many of its top players huge appearance fees. That means it may be possible for Kim to cash in big even if he struggles.

Regardless of where Kim has chosen to play, his presence will be the biggest element of intrigue. In a way, Kim may ultimately resemble other LIV additions whose name recognition often outpaces their actual competitive strength at this point in their careers. Phil Mickelson, for instance, is one of the world’s most popular golfers, though at 53 years old he’s clearly past his prime.

It’s now been 16 years since Mickelson and Kim were playing alongside one another as partners during the pairs events at the 2008 Ryder Cup.

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“I love playing with this guy,” Mickelson said then. “It was fun for me to get that youthful exuberance.”

Then, Mickelson was already one of the older guys around at 38 years old. That happens to be the same age Kim is right now.

– The Wall Street Journal