Anthony Kim will make his return to professional golf this week, signing on to play in the LIV Golf League for the remaining 10 events of its regular season.
Kim, now 38 years old, will debut in the LIV Golf event in Saudi Arabia, and he will not be affiliated with any team in the league. He will play on his own, solely contributing to the 54-player individual competition. At a minimum, he will earn $50,000 per event played, plus whatever up-front signing bonus that he negotiated with the Saudi-owned league.
“After stepping away from the game years ago due to injury, I’m happy to officially announce my return to the world of professional golf,” said Kim in a press release formally announcing his signing with LIV Golf.
“It’s been a long time coming, and I’m very grateful for all the highs, lows and lessons learned from the first part of my career. I want to compete with the best players in the world, and I’m on a mission to prove to myself that I can win again. The next step on that journey starts now, and I’m excited to give everything I’ve got this season on the LIV Golf League.”
However, Kim hasn't played professional golf in a long time. The last time Anthony Kim played a professional golf tournament was in 2012, and that's when he withdrew from what is now the Wells Fargo Championship after a first-round 74 with tendinitis in his left arm. He then ruptured his Achilles in June 2012, leaving him out of action up to 12 months. He never returned.
Kim, a three-time PGA Tour winner, underwent surgery on his left thumb in 2010.
Once ranked sixth in the world, Kim had fallen to 197th in the world by the time the Achilles injury happened. In 2012, he made just two cuts in 10 starts, withdrawing from his last three tournaments.
There has been a long reported and oft-repeated claim that Anthony Kim has a $10 million disability insurance policy on which he has been collecting, provided that he didn't play professional golf and likely satisfy other requirements. It's unclear how long that policy was or is in force, and it's also unclear if Kim had to be bought out of that policy for him to sign with LIV Golf.
The internet golf community has often wondered if Kim would return to golf someday, including sharing old videos and random photos of Kim spotted out in Dallas, where he lives, and other places.
