I was at Trump Doral in April 2024 when Anthony Kim played his first US event in his return to professional golf. So even two years ago. Millions of us remember his golf when he was at the height of his powers. It was bold, fresh, cocky, loaded with style, through the bag and off the course too. That was in 2008, 2009, 2010. He was the anti-Tiger, for approach, but he was in Tiger’s orbit for pure talent. There was no sign of that, on the range in Doral at the LIV event there, for the two of us watching it. His timing was off, his dives were huge, his speed was gone. At one time he looked like a lightweight, fast. You barely remember that version of the man. He shot rounds of 76, 81 and 80. I interviewed him after his first round. You could see the years of drug abuse all over his face. His daughter was in his arms and his wife close – they were definitely the center of the world. Pressing itI was overcome with grief. This comeback story was two parts stunt and one part desperation. That was my opinion.
This is one of the most amazing comebacks golf has ever seen. After not playing for 12 years? After abusing (by his honest reckoning) his body and mind with a near-lethal combination of drugs and alcohol?
Ben Hogan winning the 1950 US Open in an 18-hole playoff 16 months after a Greyhound bus flattened him is in an entirely different category than Kim’s victory. Hogan overcame a bad hand someone else dealt him. Kim’s LIV win has none of the grandeur of the tiger Winning at East Lake in the Tour Championship in 2018. Kim’s win is really something in itself because he’s been away so much and for so long. But what all three share is exactly what makes us love golf and the sport and indeed the challenge of life: we have the capacity to rise above our circumstances. We may or may not get there, but we may die trying. We may die trying our best. Kim’s best has been good enough to beat two of the best players in the world. The win is what’s getting our attention here, but it’s almost incidental.
When Kim’s future fell upon him, he had a wife and a child and an unlikely path to recapturing some version, some new and improved version, of his former life, and that of course was the range, the practice rounds, and the tournament rounds. He had to decide whether to stage his comeback on the PGA Tour, where nothing was promised, or the LIV Golf Series, which offered a contract. He went LIV. Greg NormanThe CEO of LIV made the deal himself. In 2024, Kim finished 56th out of 57 LIV players. Last year, it finished 55th on a list with 61 names on it. Who would have predicted this?
Well, Norman.
“From the moment we first met, to open our talks, I saw it in his eyes,” Norman said. “He said, ‘It’s going to happen!'” I feel like a proud father.
“I always knew if you could light a path of faith, if he had faith and trust, his God-given ability and drive and desire would come to life. He had so much talent, but it was buried by bad decisions and direction. He was lost and he accepted it. He owned it. He wanted to change. He knew golf could give him the opportunity he needed to make that change.
“Then there’s his wife, Emily. She’s his rock, there for him at all times, enveloping him in love and basic support. His savior. And Bella, his daughter and inspiration, pushing him every day to show her the parent idol and patriarch that he really is. This is the greatest golf comeback in history! I’m just proud to be a small part of it.”
Rahm was also part of it. It’s a measure of his humanity that he said this after Kim’s win: “In a weird way, as a competitor, maybe I shouldn’t say this, but it was a joy to watch. To see that image at 18 of him embracing his wife and daughter, any man with a soul would have a soft spot for that. I almost teared up.”
Yes. Millions of us would say the same.
When Keshad Johnson won the NBA All-Star Game on Saturday night, he had a message for the arena that Kim would know well.
“Everyone’s journey is different,” Johnson said. “To all the kids out there, keep dreaming. Have crazy faith. Crazy faith – not just regular faith. Anything can happen, man.”
;)
