Four weeks ago, on his way to Palm Springs for American Express, Adam Schriber stopped his RV in Oklahoma City to see an old friend, who let him in on a secret.
“It’s going to happen,” Anthony told Kim, according to Schriber. “My best golf is ahead of me. You see, it’s good. It just takes some time to get my confidence back.”
Fast forward to Sunday in Australia, and IT it happened
Schriber watched from more than 7,000 miles away while hanging out in his RV on the Monterey Peninsula Saturday night, where the golf instructor is on site for this week’s AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. He streamed the action and received constant text updates from his son. Across the globe at LIV Golf Adelaide, his former student was putting the finishing touches on one epic comeback in the last round to put an exclamation point on a extraordinary story of redemptionone that many people never thought would come – except for Kim and those close to him.
Kim shot a 9-under 63 to finish 23 under overall, edging out major powers Jon Rahm (20 under) and Bryson DeChambeau (17 under), who were tied for first entering the final day.
“I know I can make a lot of birdies,” Kim said. “I know my self-confidence is second to none. Obviously taking 12-and-a-half years off the game is a long time and you have to rebuild that confidence. So I think when I was in my 20s, I was never afraid to play anybody. I’m not afraid to play anybody now. I know it’s just a tournament.”
Schriber coached Kim from his days as a promising 14-year-old until he left the game. While Kim is officially with Matt Killen now, he still stays in touch with Schriber; they consider each other family. They talk or write often, and much of what Kim incorporates into the course now are concepts he’s worked on with Schriber, whose current pros include reigning US Open champion JJ Spaun and Denny McCarthy, among others.
“He’s just a phenomenal athlete who didn’t take golf because it suited him and we’re lucky to have him in the sport,” Schriber said, speaking Sunday from the Pacific Coast Highway on his way from Pebble Beach to next week’s stop at the Riviera in Los Angeles. “He’s a special talent, man. I’ve been around him a lot and he’s got all the tools, but most of all he’s given himself permission to fail.”
Kim was a good story when he returned to golf in 2024 after more than a decade away, but he didn’t have the instant success that made him a star years ago. Now 40 and playing as an LIV wild card, he was dropped after the 2025 season but regained a spot when he finished third in January’s LIV Promotions event, which handed out 2026 season memberships to the top three finishers. Then, after Patrick Reed left LIV weeks before the start of the season, Kim took his place at 4Aces.
Making his team debut in Adelaide, it looked unlikely that Kim would win on Sunday morning. All eyes were on the heavyweight battle between DeChambeau and Rahm, who entered the day tied at 19 under. Kim, five back and 14 under, was in the last group with them, but he seemed to be more of a spectator. Or so most thought.
Kim didn’t make a bogey and was four under the turn, just one back of Rahm. DeChambeau made four bogeys on the front nine and fell behind.
Kim made 12 birdies to tie Rahm and heated up from there – making three more to reel off four straight and take a commanding lead. He added his final birdie on the 17th and had a stress-free 18th hole as he completed a three-shot victory.
“Bryson and Jon have proven themselves to be championship-caliber, Ryder Cup players, and have played consistently well for a long time, so I have tremendous respect for them,” Kim said. “I knew it was going to be a tough battle today and I got the goggles to go my way.”
Before his return in 2024, Kim’s last start was as a 26-year-old at the 2012 Wells Fargo Championship (and his last win was the 2010 Shell Houston Open).
Schriber says he always thought Kim could win again, it just depends on how badly Kim wanted it. As Schriber says, he just had to commit and get sharp.
Schriber is among a small group of people in Kim’s inner circle, a group that also found some satisfaction in Kim’s victory on Sunday. Their relationship is about more than just golf. Schriber still remembers, more than 20 years ago, when she was having a hard time going through a divorce. Kim called him every day just to check in.
“My friends would forget what I was going through, but this 15-year-old kid was checking on me the whole time. That’s special, man,” says Schriber. “We’ve always been there for each other when that guy’s down. And that’s how you know who your real friends are. Everybody’s there when things are going well, but only the real people are there for you when the s— hits the fan. We have that in common.”
