Anthony Kim completes a remarkable comeback, winning the first event in 16 years
In January 2010, Apple’s CEO, Steve Jobs, stepped down in front of a packed audience and announced the company’s latest world-changing invention: the iPad.
Three months later, the world’s first iPad users turned on their devices, connected to the Internet, and were greeted with a golf headline: Anthony Kim had just won the Houston Open. Did those same tech diehards take to Instagram to celebrate the news? No. This social media giant was only six months old.
That’s it how long has it been since Anthony Kim’s last victory and his latest, which came 16 years later on Sunday morning at LIV Australia. The 40-year-old shocked the golf world with a three-shot win at Royal Adelaide, completing a comeback that had seemed impossible by the standards of the past few months.
Kim won on Sunday after shooting a flawless, nine-under, error-free final round that included four straight birdies – and five of six holes – to push the majority of shots clear of a chasing group that included major winners Jon Rahm and Bryson DeChambeau. Kim’s pumps came to an emotional climax on the 18th hole, where the 38,500 Australian fans in attendance swarmed the 18th fairway behind him to capture the scene on the green. After Kim’s tap-in par putt won the tournament at age 23, his teammates doused him with “hot water,” (according to LIV lead broadcaster Arlo White), and Kim shared an emotional hug with his wife and young daughter.
“I really don’t know what to say right now,” Kim said through tears. “It’s very difficult, but I won’t fight for my family. God gave me talent, I was able to produce good golf today. I knew it was coming. No one should believe in me but me.”
The full extent of Kim’s return to deep golf remains a mystery, but those watching Sunday morning in the United States had all the context they needed. Kim made a comeback after more than a decade as the disappearing golf star playing poorly enough to be demoted from LIV Golf, and now, less than two years later, he was back in the winner’s circle at arguably the league’s biggest event.
“I don’t really know how to put it into words,” Kim said. “I knew this was going to happen, but for it to actually happen is crazy.”
Kim disappeared from pro golf for more than a decade following his peak in the early 2010s, and his whereabouts remained one of the sport’s most talked about stories until the mid-2020s. In the year since returning to the sport to compete in LIV Golf, Kim has spoken about her struggles with addiction and the depth of her recovery in a series of social media posts and interviews with LIV’s official social media channels. In six days, on February 20, he will celebrate three years without drinking.
“For anyone who is struggling right now, you can get through anything,” Kim said on Sunday.
With the victory, Kim won $4 million and could climb to 200th place in the Official World Golf Ranking.
“I want to thank all the people who supported me,” said Kim. “Including you when I wasn’t playing well, and I was on the verge of never coming back to LIV, you always supported me.
