From Golf Ghost To LIV Golf Champion: Anthony Kim Pulls Off The Comeback Story Of A Lifetime
Absolutely nobody could've ever dreamed this.
Nobody knew where Anthony Kim was. That sentence is not hyperbole, but the actual reality involving the three-time PGA Tour winner just a little more than two years ago. Kim lived a life in the shadows for over a decade, endured life's trials and tribulations, encountered countless injuries and surgeries, sought help, got sober, started a family, and then he got to work while managing to find those two things anyone who's ever accomplished anything must have: purpose and self-belief.
On Sunday, 5,796 days after his last PGA Tour win in 2010, Kim found the winner's circle after a stunning final-round 63 to win what has become LIV Golf's signature event in Adelaide, Australia.
While most back home in the United States weren't awake to witness what was nothing short of sports cinema, Kim winning a professional golf tournament over the likes of Bryson DeChambeau, Jon Rahm, Tyrrell Hatton, and countless other familiar names in the year 2026 isn't just stunning, it's truly unbelievable.
The 40-year-old began Sunday's final round five shots back of Rahm and DeChambeau, who shared the 54-hole lead. Everyone believed that he'd come up short of the two younger, more-proven, and admittedly better players, everyone, that is, except for Kim himself.
Both Rahm and DeChambeau opened the door for Kim on the front nine, as neither shot under par, while Kim shot 4-under on the front before finding another gear on the back nine in playing his final seven holes 5-under. Not bad for a guy who had just two Top 30 finishes in 13 starts last season.
A bogey-free 63 speaks for itself, and while nobody was aware that Kim still had that level of play in his bag, it was the scene on the final green that was downright captivating.
Kim earning that moment on the green with his daughter and wife, who he credits everything to, represents a man reaching the top of a mountain he wouldn't have even looked at, let alone start climbing, less than a handful of years ago.
"I'm never not going to fight for my family," Kim said moments after earning the win. "God gave me a talent, and I was able to produce some good golf today. I knew it was coming, nobody else has to believe in me but me, and for anybody that's struggling, you can get through anything."
After playing the previous two seasons on LIV Golf as a wildcard and securing a spot on the circuit for 2026 through LIV Golf Promotions, he joined the Dustin Johnson-led 4Aces team just prior to the opening round in Australia.
Signing with a team, job security, a victory, a $4 million paycheck, and sharing the winner's circle with your wife and daughter is a week Kim, nor the golf world, will ever forget.