Last weekend featured several of professional golf’s “Welcome back!” celebrations.

PGA Tour star Collin Morikawa braved 30 mph winds at the famed Pebble Beach Golf Links in California on Sunday to earn his first title in 2 ½ years.  It was Morikawa’s seventh career PGA Tour victory.

Shreveport’s 59-year old David Toms won for the first time in nearly three years at the PGA Champions Tour event in lovely (but windy) Naples, Florida.

It was DT’s fifth win on the senior circuit to go with his 13 wins on the PGA Tour.

But neither of these two stories can compare with what LIV Golf’s Anthony Kim accomplished over the weekend.  Kim had not won a professional golf tournament in nearly 16 years since capturing the Shell Houston Open on April 4, 2010.

The magic returned…5,976 days later

After literally giving up professional golf for more than a decade, Anthony Kim’s wife and young daughter Bella have served as his inspiration to give the game one more try.

LIV Golf’s then-chief Greg Norman invited Anthony Kim back to compete for a permanent spot on the LIV Golf tour in 2024.  His comeback didn’t go well at first.

Kim finished 56th out of 59 golfers at season’s end. His best tournament finish was in 36th place.  That wasn’t exactly a stellar return for the three-time PGA title holder.

Anthony Kim had to win a spot in LIV’s 2025 field by placing high enough in the tour’s qualifying tournament.  After making the tour again in 2025, Kim finished the year as #55 of the 61 LIV golfers. His best finish was a tie for 25th place.

For a second straight year, Anthony Kim had to earn his 2026 spot in LIV Golf by performing well in the qualifying tournament.

He did.

The first LIV Golf event in 2026 was held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.  Anthony Kim posted his best finish in his two seasons on the LIV Golf tour with a tie for 22nd place.

His final round six-under par 66 In Saudi Arabia may have lit the fuse on what was going to happen the following week in Australia.

LIV Golf’s second stop was the very popular annual event in Adelaide.  As Aussie golf fans cheered for countryman Cam Smith and his Ripper GC golf team, unheralded Anthony Kim came out the gate with opening rounds of -5, -5, and -4 to move into third place going into the final round.

If that wasn’t enough pressure to make 40-year old Anthony Kim nervous, he was paired in the final round with former World #1 golfer Jon Rahm and long-hitting two-time US Open champion Bryson DeChambeau.

Anthony Kim knew that it would take a terrific final round to beat these two young golf phenoms.  After opening with three straight pars, Kim then birdied nine of the next 14 holes to zoom past his two competitors and take the tournament lead.

He would finish at 23-under par to win by three shots over Spain’s Jon Rahm.

The 9-under par closing round of 63 earned Anthony Kim his first professional golf victory since April, 2010.

Why has it taken nearly 16 years for Anthony Kim to win again?

Success came early and often for talented young golfer Anthony Kim.  After three successful years playing college golf at the University of Oklahoma, Kim qualified to play on the PGA Tour in 2006 at age 21.

Two years later, he won two PGA events in 2008 and earned a spot on the victorious US Ryder Cup team.

Anthony Kim would add a third PGA victory in April, 2010 at the Shell Houston Open.  He wasn’t quite 25 years of age and was already ranked among the world’s top 20 golfers.

Kim injured one of his thumbs and had surgery one month after his 2010 victory in Houston.  He was unable to play golf for several months.  An Achilles tendon injury then put Anthony Kim on the shelf for much of the year 2012.  He received a medical exemption from the PGA Tour in 2013 during his physical rehabilitation period.

The year 2014 brought the surprising announcement from Anthony Kim that he was no longer playing golf – even for fun.

Golf fans were perplexed as to how one of the game’s brightest young stars could literally fall off the map so quickly. 

The rumor mill added dark stories about Anthony Kim’s off-the-course personal issues.  Another circled about Kim trying to collect upwards of $20 million from a disability insurance policy after his run of significant injuries.

Kim would later say that he had been victimized by some “bad people” during this time of his life.  He also admitted to having an addictive personality and sought professional counseling.  He claims to be sober for three years as of February, 2026.

Anthony Kim’s wife Emily has been at the center of the golfer’s return to the top

There’s nothing like having your wife suggest that she wants to learn how to play golf to inspire Anthony Kim to give the game another go himself.

While mentoring wife Emily Kim, the process rekindled a renewed interest in playing golf by the talented husband.  

After more than ten years without golf in his life, Anthony Kim said that he discovered that he was falling in love with playing the sport for the very first time.

During an insightful interview two years ago with LIV Golf’s David Feherty, Anthony Kim claimed to have felt extra pressure from his family and friends to excel at golf entering college.

Feherty, a recovering alcoholic, encouraged Kim to share that how easy it was to fall prey to bad influences away from the golf course.  Kim acknowledged that he developed an alcohol and drug problem to go with his mental health struggles.

The pro golfer also revealed that 98% of his former friends are no longer a part of his new life.

Anthony Kim acknowledges that the game of golf is very hard.  His mantra is to “get 1% better every day” in golf and, now, in his role as a husband and father.

Introducing the star of this week’s show – 4-year old daughter Bella Kim

Anthony Kim’s incredible golf comeback has paralleled his time after becoming a first-time father four years ago.  Bella was born three months prematurely and experienced a number of early struggles.

Upon receiving an offer from Greg Norman to return to professional golf with LIV Golf two years ago in 2024, Anthony Kim made a significant modification to his golf ball.  “Papa” Kim drew a “B” onto his golf ball.  It was to remind him that he was now playing on behalf of his young daughter, too.

“I had no self worth until I became a father”, said the now 40-year old Anthony Kim.

“Now I have a duty, a responsibility of taking care of my family and being the best role model for my daughter as I could be. That gives me purpose every morning, and I just didn’t have that before.”

Welcome back into the winner’s circle in golf and life, Anthony Kim!

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