The name 'Anthony Kim' has not been seen on top-level leaderboards around professional golf for well over a decade now. However, there are an increasing number of reports suggesting that may well be about to change.
Citing multiple anonymous sources, Golf Channel first reported that the American - last seen at the 2012 Wells Fargo Championship - is ready to join the LIV Golf League and will make his debut at the upcoming LIV Golf Jeddah tournament as one of the two 'wildcard' players.
Hudson Swafford has been locked in as a full-season wildcard following an injury-plagued 2023, while Kim will join him as an individual competitor - at least for the third event of the season. LIV's fourth tournament of 2024 takes place just a week later in Hong Kong, although Kim's status regarding that event is not yet known.
The 38-year-old enjoyed a stunning start to life in professional golf, winning twice on the PGA Tour in 2008 and for a third time in 2010. That made him just the fifth player in 30 years to win three times on the PGA Tour before the age of 25.
Kim also starred in Team USA's 2008 Ryder Cup win at Valhalla, where he famously took down Sergio Garcia 5&4 in the lead match of the Sunday singles.
But one of his most incredible achievements was making 11 birdies in a single round during day two of the 2009 Masters to set a new tournament record. Kim's best Major finish of third arrived at the 2010 Masters, while he was also T5 at the 2011 Open Championship.
However, the former World No.6's time at the top was constantly being disrupted due to injury, and his career-to-date eventually ended following a 10-tournament 2012 campaign that saw him finish just two events, along with four missed cuts, three withdrawals, and one disqualification.
After pulling out of the 2012 Wells Fargo following round one and undergoing surgery on his left Achilles tendon, Kim went AWOL from the sport. In 2014, Golf.com reported that the American was unlikely to return having taken out an insurance policy worth an estimated $10 million that depended on him remaining "retired."
During an interview with the Associated Press in 2015, Kim called golf "a fond memory of mine" and listed several surgeries he had gone through as key reasons why a comeback was a distant dream.
He said: "I’ve got so much ground to make up from injuries—rotator cuff, labrum, spinal fusion, hand injury. I’ve had six or seven surgeries in the last three-and-a-half years.”
With not a sound from Kim in years, it seemed as though he really had left the game for good. However, a handful of swing videos have emerged in recent months which suggest Kim is now considering a return - as long as he can manage the insurance bill. Step up, LIV Golf.
While Golf.com's Dylan Dethier had stated that Kim had been in talks with both the PGA Tour and LIV Golf over a route back into the game, it appears as though the PIF-funded circuit has presented the most appealing offer to the 38-year-old - one that could quite easily handle any unwanted financial issue brought about via Kim's weighty insurance policy.
With LIV Golf Jeddah set to begin on March 1, those looking forward to seeing Anthony Kim light up the course once more may not have to wait too much longer.
