KING ABDULLAH ECONOMIC CITY, Saudi Arabia – Anthony Kim was preparing for his final short session on the practice green prior to Friday’s first round of LIV Golf Jeddah. First, though, he had to adjust his hair. Considering it extends halfway down his back, this is no simple process.
As Kim tied up his lengthy black mane into the man bun that would poke out above the closure of his white cap, a collection of caddies and player support staff looked on in fascination, their eyes glued to each twist and turn.
It’s the kind of treatment usually reserved by mythological creatures. In the pro golf world, that’s the current status for Kim, who returned to competition at Royal Greens after a nearly 12-year retirement. Earlier in the week, fellow LIV Golf member Ian Poulter described Kim as both the “Loch Ness Monster” and a “Yeti” all within a 20-second soundbite.
Once on a career trajectory to stardom, overloaded with charisma, bravado and a full-throttle approach toward life, Kim’s absence from the sport since 2012 actually enhanced his larger-than-life reputation. “He has a mystique about him. A cult following,” Greg Norman said during a broadcast visit Friday.
The LIV Golf Commissioner and CEO revealed he initially approached Kim two years ago to gauge his interest in returning to the professional world with the start-up league. The timing wasn’t right at that point, but thanks to his wife Emily and their young daughter Bella, Kim has become reinvigorated. In a better place, both physically and mentally.
Emily took up golf; he became her teacher. Then they had a baby girl. Priorities were adjusted. Anthony became father first, golfer second. His biggest smiles this week have been reserved for Bella, and the family has been inseparable during practice days, holding hands, laughing. His journey back to golf, Norman observed, “has been a journey of two, not one – and now it’s three.”
Admitted Kim: “My daughter is having the best time, and that’s the most important thing.”
Bella’s not quite ready to walk 18 holes with dad, but Emily was nearby Friday when her husband struck his first competitive tee shot in 4,320 days. It came at the 18th tee during the shotgun start, and it found the middle of the fairway. “Good swing,” said playing partner Graeme McDowell. A sigh of relief for Kim.
“A feeling I hadn’t felt before,” he said. “I was very excited to go get it done. Fairway looked very narrow.”
Moments earlier, Kim had taken a few seconds for himself, standing alone at the far corner of the tee box. Maybe it was just one last internal pep talk or swing thought. Or perhaps it was a quick reflection of the last 12 years and the fresh opportunities that await him. Either way, life is different now. “The journey of 1,000 miles starts with a single step,” Norman mentioned to Emily. “That first step is his first swing today.”
Alas, most mythical creatures can still bleed. On his second shot, Kim stone-cold topped his iron shot, and it eventually cost him a bogey. An overhead drone might have been an unexpected distraction; after all, camera-flying objects weren’t a thing in golf broadcasts back in 2012 when he last played. Neither was Trackman, the now-ubiquitous swing launch monitor that only became a driving range staple in recent times. Earlier in the week, Kim relied on Dustin Johnson to give him a tutorial on its finer points.
Rust was to be expected. After starting with three solid drives, Kim pulled his tee shot at the par-5 fourth. “Should’ve backed off a little,” he told his caddie and close friend Ryan Todey. On the next hole, he hit a shank on his approach shot but avoided double bogey by rolling in a 6-footer.
A bounce-back birdie at the par-4 sixth was his lone highlight, quickly followed by three more bogeys. But the round didn’t completely unravel. He fought hard over the last eight holes, eventually finishing with a 76 that leaves him last among the 54 competitors. He signed his scorecard on his finishing hole, the 17th, and then jumped in a van that carried him back to the clubhouse – more unfamiliar progress for this bear that’s hibernated for 12 years.
Anyone anticipating a low score and an immediate spot atop the leaderboard simply wasn’t being realistic. “It’ll take a few rounds under his belt to get into any kind of comfort zone,” studio analyst David Feherty said. Colleague Dom Boulet thinks next month’s LIV Golf Miami should be a better barometer; it’ll be Kim’s third start.
But credit Kim for chasing a higher standard.
“I would be lying to say that I didn't have certain expectations,” Kim said. “At least even if I played bad, I thought I would shoot around par. It was unfortunate that I made so many unforced errors from the middle of the fairway. That's generally my strength is my iron game. To make so many unforced errors is really disappointing.”
Even so, he saw enough good play to embrace hope, to have something to build on. The intrigue of simply returning to golf is over. Now it becomes how quickly he returns to competitive form.
Meanwhile, his family will offer the proper perspective. Emily was waiting for him outside the clubhouse. A quick kiss and the couple headed toward the door. It was nearly 4 p.m. local time and Bella wanted to see her dad. In a few years, she’ll understand the importance of this day, hear the story of his return to the sport he loves. But for now, she probably just needed a snack.