02/17/26 12:39:00
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02/17 12:37 CST Anthony Kim's mystique was built on memories. Now his best
highlight is a win
Anthony Kim's mystique was built on memories. Now his best highlight is a win
By DOUG FERGUSON
AP Sports Writer
LOS ANGELES (AP) --- Anthony Kim shared this much with Tiger Woods: The longer
they stayed away, the more the legend grew. The difference was the amount of
highlights to fill the void and what kept them away.
Kim's victory in LIV Golf Adelaide, before the largest crowd on the LIV circuit
and in the early morning hours in most parts of America, was nothing short of
astonishing because of how long he had been away --- 12 years in the prime of
his career --- and his struggles with drug and alcohol addiction that made him
thankful to even be alive, much less playing golf.
"Who I am today is a completely different person," Kim said. "With God, my
family, my sobriety being the key things to my life, I can go as far as I want."
What stands out about this return is the time lapse. Has there been another
athlete from any other sport who disappeared for so long and came back to win?
Perhaps even more remarkable is that he was in the final group, five shots
behind Jon Rahm and Bryson DeChambeau, and didn't miss a shot on his way to a
63.
Kim's mantra is to get 1% better each day. That's what it took to get him back.
The question going forward is whether that percentage can increase given the
shot of confidence that comes from winning.
The talent was never in question.
Woods was playing a practice round for the 2007 PGA Championship at Southern
Hills when, during a wait on the sixth tee, he walked over to the side of the
tee box and asked unprompted, "What do you think of Anthony Kim?" Woods never
missed anything going on in golf.
A year later, Kim won by five shots at Quail Hollow and closed with a 65 to win
at Congressional in the AT&T National. Adding to the aura --- as if the bling
and belt buckles and the strut weren't enough --- was his takedown of Sergio
Garcia in the 2008 Ryder Cup.
They both hit shots into 2 feet on the first hole at Valhalla.
"Good-good?" Garcia said to Kim, suggesting they concede the putts, a common
practice.
"Let's putt them," Kim replied without looking at him.
Kim was so wired that day that he walked off to the 15th tee after winning
another hole only to see the Spaniard waiting to shake his hand on the 14th
green. Kim didn't realize the match was over.
A year later at the Presidents Cup, reports surfaced that Kim was out partying
in the streets of San Francisco until dawn before the final round. Robert
Allenby shared these tales, a curious decision because this was after Kim
needed only 15 holes to beat him in Sunday singles.
And before long, Kim was gone.
A thumb injury kept him off the 2010 Ryder Cup team. There was pain in his left
elbow, his wrist. There were missed cuts and WDs. His game was so bad that Kim
said his mother told him a caddie at a golf club in Los Angeles was making
twice as much as Kim's earnings in 2012.
And then he was out of public view for more than a decade.
Any time there was a rumored AK sighting came memories of his talent and his
aura. He became legend. He had a mystique, even though Kim won only three times
and never seriously contended in a major. He set a Masters record with 11
birdies in one round. Steve Pate shares the Masters record with seven birdies
in a row. No one ever talks about Pate.
Woods was never the same after the first of four back surgeries that led to his
lower back being fused. He was gone for chunks of time, most notably playing
only once on the PGA Tour and once on the European Tour --- a total of three
rounds --- in 2016 and 2017.
All that remained were memories and highlights, plentiful and powerful. And
then Woods brought that legend to life when he contended at Carnoustie in 2018,
won at East Lake and then came full circle when he won the 2019 Masters, just
two years after he could barely make it up the stairs to the Augusta National
clubhouse.
That's the lasting memory now that Woods hardly plays because of injuries from
his 2021 car crash. The question is whether he plays the PGA Tour Champions now
that he's 50.
Kim, for all the years he was gone, is still only 40. That's not a peak age
even in golf, though Justin Rose (45) has shown it can be done. Kim has plenty
of years ahead, wherever that takes him.
He unwittingly got help from LIV, which gave him a spot in the Saudi-funded
league in 2024. LIV added an additional spot in its qualifying tournament (Kim
finished third). It also changed from 54 holes to 72 holes this year. If not
for that change, there would not have been an extra round for that masterful
performance from Kim on Sunday in Australia.
And with LIV getting world ranking points --- one reason the league added the
qualifying spot and 72-hole tournaments --- Kim is now just outside the top 200
in the world.
It's too soon to speculate whether the majors are in view. Another win still
wouldn't get him inside the top 100. LIV Golf has three tournaments (Hong Kong,
Singapore, South Africa) before the Masters. The PGA Championship seems like a
possibility if he keeps contending, and the two Opens offer spots through LIV's
points list.
This was cause for celebration, appreciation and amazement. Best of all, he has
a new highlight to remind golf fans why he got so much attention in the first
place.
___
AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf
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