Anthony Kim recently graduated from LIV Golf. What does that say about his game?
Two years ago, when Anthony Kim decided to return to public life and public golf, there were two guarantees: (1) You will get the first round no matter how you play, and (2) People were watching (at least at first) and commenting.
Nothing was promised about the shape of his game as he is about to turn 40. Little has been revealed about his condition or the injuries he sustained during his absence. The golf world had to wake up – and wake up early – for the first time, in Saudi Arabia, and watch for ourselves. The results were not good.
But given all the context that was to come – Kim’s struggle with drug and alcohol addiction – the results also didn’t seem that important early on. Development was important. Until those confirmed starts ended, about five months ago.
Fast forward to last weekend and the first really important start of Kim’s second golf career. It was the first Q-school event that Kim participated in since returning. It’s the first time he’s started a calendar year not knowing how much professional golf he had in his near future. But at the LIV Promotions event, which ended on Sunday, Kim survived a field of 78, finishing alone in third place in the tournament where the top three finishers bookended LIV’s first season.
If you don’t know Kim’s journey, you can dive in here. What we are here to discuss: What should be done about it? How amazing was this result? And what does 2026 mean for him?
Kim is 40-go-on-41. Time is not on his side to compete with the Jon Rahms of the world at LIV Golf. Since Kim’s return, he has made 34 starts and shown that the drive is a weakness, as it was to some extent when he won the PGA Tour. Kim also lacks the pop of his peers — his 293.5-yard driving distance in 2025 ranked 50th out of 54 LIV players — a quick way to fall behind in modern pro golf.
However, he is chipping at a high level, close to the PGA Tour average. He also putst well, a note below the PGA Tour average, according to DataGolf. And impress! But to be a consistent, high-scoring modern golfer, hitting the ball is everything. That’s the foundation we have to have – you see it in many programs, they can only win when their putter is hot.
Actually, that’s what Kim was. He’s hovered around the lower end of the LIV Golf leaderboards, sometimes getting in, say, T29 if he’s putted well for three days.
But then there is his latest form. Without effort again hard, it is clear to see some legitimate progress. While playing in a handful of four-round events across Asia this fall, Kim missed just one cut and went down. His worst rounds didn’t put him out of tournaments as often as they did, all of which led him to the PIF Saudi International in November – featuring many of LIV’s best players – where he finished 5th. It was his first time participating in a tournament, and it seems like the first time he was upset about getting a low score (70, in the last round).
That start was easy to miss – an off-season event in the Middle East – but it’s going to be more effective now that Kim backed us up a month and a half later. With three more rounds of data from the LIV Promotions event, Kim has now completed a streak-winning streak in back-to-back tournaments for the first time since his comeback. Those numbers are “True Strokes Gained” per DataGolf, which, in turn, are adjusted to reflect field strength. In other words, Kim’s performance would do well anywhere in the world, which is important when you consider the level of players at LIV Promotions.
The event promises the LIV start of the season – possibly as “wild cards” – for the top three finishers. It was played amid threats of a PGA Tour ban, which led to at least one entrant dropping out. It was full of players that golf fans may not know, or haven’t heard of in a long time.
Overall, the strength of the field was probably closer to a PGA Tour Americas tournament than a Korn Ferry Tour event. However, they are professional golfers, some of whom have played in LIV events, some of whom have not competed in major tournaments. So Kim knows what she has to do to qualify, too what to doit’s amazing. It was the first time that his current self had truly achieved something he had no power over. And like any Q-school type setting, moving forward already has Kim thinking about what might come next.
“This is just the first step,” he said, hoping to send a message. “But I’m glad I got my place so everyone can stop talking, and I’ll be back soon and I’ll be winning golf tournaments soon.”
