Coach Anthony Kim and as an early 2000s move set Sunday’s win in motion

“Want to see an epic swing?”

The teenager who heard this was excited. He was learning and epic swings inspire. But Matt Guy enjoy sharing this video. He has several versions of it, all shot on an old Casio camera, which is what people used before the iPhone. This tells you that this video itself was as old as the child who would be watching it.

Soon he had a question.

“Who is Anthony Kim?”

Killen laughed as he told the story. Who is Anthony Kim? how much time do you have

Today, Kim is your latest LIV Golf winnerafter a Sunday rally in Australia that saw him on the trail Jon Rahmthe winner of the 2021 US Open and the 2023 Masters, and Bryson DeChambeauchampion of the US Open 2020 and 2024. However, there is much more to him. Kim had been everywhere. And then nowhere. There hasn’t been a win since 2010. And no golf, or much in the way of public appearances, for a dozen years starting in 2012. What happened during that period is largely unknown, though Kim has shared stories of alcohol and drug abuse.

But Killen still had those videos. He had recorded some of Kim during the 2008 Ryder Cup, played at Valhalla in Killen State, Kentucky, where the young teacher was leading a quarter of the American team (Kenny Perry, Chad Campbell and JB Holmes) and his captain (Paul Azinger). He showed his wife the recordings. This is it the guy who won three times before the age of 25. This is it the guy who beat Sergio Garcia in Sunday singles at the Ryder Cup. This is it the guy who once played 11 holes in the Masters – in one round. This is it the type with the ‘AK’ belt.

This is it Friend Killen said he bumped into about a month before Kim returns to the golf profession in February of 2024.

“I was like, man, ‘I’ve been asking people for the last 12 years if anybody’s seen you and you’re completely gone,'” Killen said.

“‘Like that’s amazing even bumping into you. How are you? What’s going on?'”

A few days later, Kim wrote a message:

Could he see it swaying?

How Anthony Kim’s game came back for two years, closed with a victory

Killen and Kim had bonded here and there during Kim’s time on the PGA Tour, mostly at tournaments and tournaments, while Kim played practice rounds with Perry. “As a new coach,” Killen said, “it was kind of trying to get a piece here or there.” However, Kim’s joke charmed him. It was one thing he succeeded at. But it was HOW he was doing it. For Killen, Kim was cinematic.

“He knew he was going to play well,” he said. “This is an intimidating opponent.”

Like 12 years away. In most major sports, that’s an entire career. This is high school graduation, college graduation AND being well on their way to the workforce. For Kim? The break showed. In one of their first sessions, Killen said Kim didn’t even have clubs. However, a plan was developed. Killen treated the absence like Kim was coming back from injury. He had experience there. Perry had knee surgery; Holmes a brain procedure. First, they would work on a foundation. Then shots rang out. Then understand the note.

Then finally play golf.

“You always have a small question or at least I think the player will be able to do it?” Killen said. “And as your body changes over time, you have to adapt based on what you can do physically. So it’s ‘what was I doing.’ Well, can you still move like you used to after the surgeries and things that have happened?”

“So it’s a fine line between trying to recreate what once was and taking what once was and adapting it to where you currently are in life or physically.”

Everything looked great. But then Kim stopped.

Season 1 with LIV, Kim finished 56th out of 58 players who received ranking points during the season.

Season 2 with LIV, Kim was kicked out of the league.

Around early January of this year, Kim and Killen talked. Kim was entering LIV’s “Promotion Event”, which awards three spots in the LIV season. Stumble there and the future would be murky.

Kim finished third.

A few weeks later, on Sunday in Australia, he won.

“I don’t think any of us were like, ‘OK, I hope you play well,'” Killen said of the Promotions Event. “We were like, ‘Hey, you’ve got to go do this. How are you going to do that?’ And he said he will. And so then, going back, like what shots do you need, how are you going to manage it, what information do we decide is helpful, but it doesn’t take away from his ability to be an athlete.

“And what that means is you let the subconscious take over. You don’t even think about the positions or the complex thoughts of the swing when you have to open it. … You have to play golf.”

Killen said he never had a Plan B. There still isn’t.

“I mean, if you look at the shots he hit (Sunday), you know, under the gun, he hit the most unbelievable shots. And again, that’s a superpower, how to be able to do it when it matters most. He wants the ball. He wants that opportunity. And you can see it. He likes the energy. He likes the crowd and the PGA his way. Confidence, that’s a major part of life, to are you able to believe in yourself and have that confidence – will you show up or not mess up?

“And he has it.”

What it was like to watch Anthony Kim win

After the win, Killen was proud. And tired. On Sunday, he watched from Florida, where the final round ended around 2 a.m. The next morning, Killen FaceTimed Kim, along with Kim’s wife, Emily; and Kim’s daughter, Bella.

Immediately after the call, Killen wondered how Kim was feeling.

“He’s like, I don’t really know,” Killen said.

There are layers here, of course. He had won before. He thought he would win again. Easy. Or not so much. After 12 years away and two underwhelming seasons, you could be excused for thinking he wouldn’t. It’s also what Kim has been going through during his absence. Killen and Kim have talked about it. Knowing what he does, Killen said what Kim has done is golf’s greatest comeback story. (Notably, Killen had also worked with Tiger Woods during Woods’ 2019 Masters win.) Kim’s family is also part of things. Seconds after his last shot in Australia, Kim looked for Emily and Bella. “He told me a long time ago,” Killen said, “that he wanted to show his daughter that he wasn’t a loser.”

Returns are not straightforward. Often they boil. Sports, while entertaining, are not movies.

But the thought was: Why not believe?

“I’ve been telling everybody since he came back, ‘I think he’s going to win again,'” Killen said. “And I had a lot of people call me and say, like, ‘Wow, I didn’t see that at any point.'” And again, his resilience and determination.

“And his skill.”

That epic swing.

The idea of that It never left, Team Kim felt.

Not even for the student who once wondered who Anthony Kim was. As these things sometimes do, he was back on the court with Killen on Monday.

He has since been dating Kim. First the process. I saw him play.

“He was like …,” Killen said, “you set an example for me.”

Editor’s Note: For more from Kim and Killen, Kim’s YouTube page recently posted a video describing their work together, and you can find here.

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