The improbable journey of Anthony Kim
His stunning victory over Rahm and DeChambeau in Adelaide defies expectations
Anthony Kim celebrates his first victory in 16 years (Charles LeBerge/LIV Golf)
It is difficult to know where to start at the end of the most improbable 16-year journey in golf.
Was it the final-round 63 that included nine birdies?
Was it coming from five strokes down to begin the last day?
Was it taking down with ease major champions Jon Rahm and Bryson DeChambeau?
Or was it winning after two mountainous years of competitive struggles that were in no way surprising given the time away from the game?
For Anthony Kim, it is simply unbelievable that he won the LIV Golf Adelaide event on Sunday. Just one of those elements is remarkable to fathom. Add them all up and you’ve got one of the stories of the year in golf.
Forget the game’s uncivil war. Kim’s winning is a big deal because of where he was, what he overcame and just how much difficulty he’s had in making it happen.
Frankly, his signing by LIV Golf in early 2024 after 12 years in self-imposed exile came off as more of a publicity stunt than any kind of meaningful golf story. And two years of bottom-feeding on the breakaway circuit were seemingly proof.
But give Kim credit. After being relegated out of the league last year, he earned his way back via the Promotions event last month in Florida.
Then, in the second event of the year, he wins on the biggest stage in LIV Golf in front of record-setting crowds in South Australia.
Kim, 40, started the day in the same group but five strokes behind the heavyweight tandem of Rahm and DeChambeau and was expected to be just witness to a much anticipated showdown of LIV’s two biggest stars.
Kim roared when he grabbed a share of the lead on the Watering Hole (Jon Ferrey/LIV Golf)
Instead, Kim took the lead for the first time with his fifth birdie of the day on the 12th hole, and he rode the adrenaline and energy of the Australian crowds that backed him to four additional birdies down the stretch to pull away to a three-shot win. His 63 in the final group was eight shots better than Rahm and 11 better than DeChambeau on Sunday.
“I’m too old to be reacting like that because I think I pulled something in my hip,” the 40-year-old Kim said. “But I will say that that was all the lows that I went through in my life that I got to dig out of.”
It was Kim’s first victory anywhere in just shy of 16 years, since the 2010 Shell Houston Open where he beat Vaughn Taylor in a playoff.
“It’s been overwhelming,” Kim said in an emotional greenside TV interview following the round. “I’m never not going to fight for my family. 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. For anybody who’s struggling, you can get through anything.”
Kim has spoken at times over the past two years about his addiction issues and health problems that saw him check out of the game for 12 years. After playing in the 2012 Wells Fargo Championship, he all but vanished and became a cult figure in isolation that the golf world intermittently hoped might bring his once immense talent and swagger back to competition.
That didn’t occur until LIV Golf threw him a lifeline in 2024 that allowed him to compete despite not playing very well.
Kim did not earn a point in each of the first two years of LIV’s individual system and fell outside of the top 48 players last year, leaving him relegated out of the league with no tour to call home until he played his way back in by claiming the third and final spot via the Promotions event.
“What he’s doing is nothing short of remarkable,” Rahm said prior to the final round. “I really hope he can find the right person to tell his story, however form — movie, documentary series, book, whatever it is — because what he’s doing is so impressive.
“Where he was at in life to where he’s at now — I’ve been able to play with him. I played in Singapore in his first season with him early on. Both of us played with him here last year in the first round, and I played with him (Friday), and the progression, the jump from those two times to yesterday, it’s impressive.”
Kim’s story seemed done when he failed to keep his spot on LIV Golf at the end of the 2025 season. Where would he go?
But he had some late-season success on the Asian Tour, including a tie for fifth at the Saudi International, then entered the qualifying event in Florida, where he made the cut to the weekend by a stroke and then shot 66-69 on the weekend to grab the third and final qualifying spot.
“It means a lot to me because three years ago, doctors had told me that I potentially had two weeks to live,” Kim said on Jan. 11 after earning one of the three spots. “So just to be here standing in front of you guys is a blessing. I’m so grateful that God has given me this opportunity to showcase what I’m best at, and hopefully I’ll be holding a trophy soon.”
That seemed hard to believe. And even with those dreams, it came earlier than expected.
“Best moment of my life so far,” Kim said with his wife and daughter by his side. “Obviously when Bella was born, Emily and my life changed. But to be able to share this moment, even though Bella won’t understand it, one day she will, and for her to be able to run on the green and see her dad isn’t a loser was one of the most special moments of my life.”
The massive crowds in Adelaide back Kim through his 18th hole victory march (Pedro Salado/LIV Golf)
With massive crowds cheering him on at LIV’s best event, he thrived under the pressure and made a run, at one point making four consecutive birdies on the back nine. His birdie at the 17th hole gave him a three-shot lead as neither Rahm nor DeChambeau was able to push him.
He basically had a stroll to the trophy at the 18th.
“Obviously Bryson and Jon have proven themselves as major championship caliber winners, Ryder Cup players, and have consistently played well for a long time, so I have a tremendous amount of respect for them,” Kim said. “I knew it was going to be an uphill battle today, and I got putts to go my way.
“But obviously Bryson got off to a bad start (shot 74) and really just kind of was hanging in there. But Jon (71) was playing halfway decent at first. When I got close, I felt it was very important for me to be seeing what he was doing, even though my focus needed to be on my game. I liked to know where I was compared to the other leaders.”
Kim said that he had only been playing golf for a few months at this point two years ago when overtures to return surfaced.
It was a long way removed from playing on the winning 2008 U.S. Ryder Cup team and 2009 U.S. Presidents Cup teams, from winning three PGA Tour events and from making a record 11 birdies in a Masters round at Augusta National.
He also noted various struggles over his life in the intervening 12 years. There were seven surgeries. A doctor had told him his life was in danger. “There are a lot of reasons I shouldn’t be here right now.”
“Not to get too far into it, but when doctors are telling you that you may not have much time left, that’s a pretty rude awakening,” Kim said. “I still think about it to this day when I’m out there and I get frustrated with my golf, how far I’ve come. And other people don’t need to know the journey. I’m going to share it, and the people that find inspiration and strength from it, I hope it can influence them in a positive way.
“But yeah, it was — I got to a point where, you know, I may not be here speaking to you guys.’’
Kim was to be a wildcard player again this season and started that way in last week’s season-opener in Riyadh, where he tied for 22nd — his best LIV Golf finish before his Sunday victory.
But prior to the Adelaide tournament, he joined Dustin Johnson’s 4Aces team, replacing Patrick Reed who left LIV Golf last month. Kim’s play helped the team to a third-place finish behind the all-Aussie Ripper team and Rahm’s Legion XIII.
“It was always the goal to be in the final group, giving yourself a chance to win a golf tournament, or else I wouldn’t have been practicing and playing on this league,” Kim said. “But if you’d have asked me three years ago, I would have told you (that) you were on drugs.”