Anthony Kim is plotting his return to skilled golf after greater than a decade away.
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For greater than a decade he’s been golf’s Yeti, golf’s most well-known recluse, golf’s man of thriller, golf’s biggest “what-if”. As the years have ticked by, tales from his abridged profession have been advised and retold with growing ranges of admiration and exaggeration. His cult hero standing has continued to develop, whilst hopes of his aggressive future have dwindled.
But now Anthony Kim is planning his return to skilled golf.
Kim has spent the previous few months in discussions with the PGA Tour, LIV and potential sponsors as he plots a method again, a number of sources conversant in these discussions advised GOLF. He’s been enjoying extra golf. He’s been ramping up exercises. He’s assured in his recreation. That half, individuals say, undoubtedly hasn’t modified. Now, it’s only a matter of the place he makes his return.
When we final noticed Kim in competitors, he was 26 years outdated enjoying the 2012 Wells Fargo Championship. He withdrew from that occasion after the opening spherical, citing damage. It was his third consecutive WD. He disappeared shortly thereafter; he’s hardly been heard from since.
A central challenge in negotiations has been an insurance coverage coverage from Kim’s enjoying days, now price an estimated $10 million, that will be voided if he returned to competitors. His determination to attempt the PGA Tour versus signing a cope with LIV additionally comes at a tense second in negotiations between the leagues as they battle for gamers, consideration and leverage as their respective 2024 seasons get underway — all whereas talks round a possible deal churn on within the background.
Should Kim go the PGA Tour route, he might in concept resume play instantly. He would have entry to some lesser occasions on his “past champion” standing, however outdoors of signature occasions he would haven’t any drawback discovering sponsor exemptions in all places else, realizing the juice he’d add to the sphere. While Kim’s insurance coverage payout couldn’t be dealt with instantly in a lump sum fee from the PGA Tour — that’s not how the league is about up — there could possibly be workarounds involving sponsors and appearances plus a possible spot on the Player Impact Program (PIP), tapping into Kim’s cachet to make it price his whereas. Should Kim restart his Tour membership he’d give you the chance to settle for limitless exemptions this yr.
When requested concerning the potential for a Kim return, a PGA Tour spokesperson declined to remark.
Sources conversant in LIV negotiations mentioned that Saudi-financed league had not initially expressed a lot curiosity nor willingness to pay for Kim to be part of the league. But as phrase of Kim’s potential return unfold, key figures together with Dustin Johnson spoke out about Kim’s potential worth. A name from LIV CEO Greg Norman instantly to Kim adopted after which negotiations started in earnest, together with a one-year provide that will cowl Kim’s insurance coverage coverage — once more, within the space of $10 million — whereas permitting him to earn prize cash and sponsor offers on high of that. A LIV spokesperson declined to remark.
Should Kim signal with LIV, he could not truly be part of a group — not less than not within the first yr of his deal. While he’s been floated as a chance to be part of Jon Rahm’s group, LIV is predicted to play this yr with 54-player fields consisting of 13 groups of 4 (52 gamers whole) plus two “wild card” spots reserved for people. Kim additionally appears unlikely to tee it up as early as subsequent week’s debut in Mayakoba however might probably play as a wild card going ahead; LIV’s Miami occasion in early April was circled as one potential launching spot. The imaginative and prescient floated to Kim is that, ought to the primary yr go properly, he could possibly be signed to a group for 2025 or probably launch his personal.
There are clear instances to be made for both facet. The PGA Tour boasts higher attain and higher contextual and historic significance than LIV, the Saudi-funded disruptor coming into simply its second full season. The Tour was the place Kim’s star was born, after all, and whilst LIV continues to acquire high expertise, the PGA Tour stays the world’s deepest, best circuit. TV scores on Tour have additionally dwarfed these of its competitor, and sponsorship offers are extra available in consequence.
LIV, alternatively, would mark a softer touchdown spot. With big-time assured cash, Kim would earn six-figure payouts each week even when he completed in final place. There are not any cuts, guaranteeing him aggressive reps with out the specter of lacking the weekend. And LIV’s contracts make it simpler to give him up-front cash.
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There’s a 3rd possibility, in fact: If he doesn’t see a path (or deal) he likes, Kim might stay within the shadows. He could have missed the window for a LIV mega-contract. And it’s doable he received’t really feel sure sufficient within the PGA Tour’s capability to ship assured worth. His {golfing} future might stay what if. But for the primary time in a very long time, he’d favor to return.
Whatever route Kim takes, his reappearance can be met with important intrigue from golf followers throughout the globe.
During the height of his enjoying profession, Kim achieved cult-hero standing as a flashy, hard-hitting, hard-partying recent face for a sport that desperately wanted one. He was undeniably proficient, too: In 2008 he received his first PGA Tour occasion at age 22, then received his second only a couple months later. He made his Ryder Cup debut that yr, too, palling round with Michael Jordan at Valhalla and capping off the week with a 5-and-4 drubbing of Sergio Garcia in Sunday singles. He climbed as excessive as No. 6 on this planet. The following spring, at Augusta National, he set a Masters report for birdies in a single spherical — he made 11 in a second-round 65 — and appeared poised for superstardom. His brashness made him polarizing, however he leaned into that persona, joyful to function a disrupting power to the Tour’s typical tranquility.
As time went on his star continued to rise. In 2010 he went on Jay Leno with Jessica Alba and provided a placing lesson. He dished out a pair assists on the NBA’s Celebrity All-Star Game. He received the Valero Texas Open a pair months after that after which completed T3 on the Masters, returning to the highest 10 on this planet. But later that yr he started to wrestle. In the months and years that adopted he started accruing accidents extra rapidly than trophies. His 2011 season nonetheless featured flashes of brilliance, together with a T6 on the Farmers and a T5 on the Open Championship, however there have been clear indicators of slipping. His 2012 season featured 10 begins, 4 WDs, 4 extra MCs and a high end of T42. His last occasion was the Wells Fargo Championship at Quail Hollow — the positioning of his debut win. He was simply 26.
Kim’s legend arguably grew after his disappearance. Golf isn’t accustomed to its stars vanishing, after all. Careers span many years. Initially there was no sense that Kim can be gone endlessly. His final on-the-record interview got here with the AP‘s Doug Ferguson in 2015, at which point Kim referred to golf as “a distant memory of mine.” He said at that point that he was getting monthly payments from an insurance policy he’d taken out in case of damage. But he nonetheless didn’t rule out a return.
“Ask me in two years,” he advised Ferguson.
But within the years that adopted, Kim confirmed no indicators of return. He hardly confirmed up in any respect. One golf fan bumped into him at a espresso store in West Hollywood, Calif., in April 2019. In the summer season of 2020 a shot emerged of Kim at an outside gathering, White Claw in hand. There was the discharge of a mysterious swing video, date and time unknown, that despatched followers right into a tizzy. You get the concept. His longtime swing coach Adam Schriber posted a photograph with Kim round New Year’s in 2021, with a cryptic caption: “2021 is going to be special.”
By that time, although, golf followers weren’t certain what to hope for. Everyone wished to see him once more. But would he actually return to play after greater than a decade away?
It seems that 2024 might be particular as a substitute. There was no indication of how critical Kim was a couple of return till this fall, when he started placing out feelers. Talks have progressed since then. With LIV’s season starting the primary week of February, a choice looms.
LIV’s different roster strikes are down to the wire, too. While Jon Rahm’s December signing induced an enormous splash, official roster bulletins have been sluggish to observe. Entering this week his roster had not less than one spot open, as did the roster of the Cleeks. Speculation and fierce negotiation have adopted as different gamers make their very own calculations concerning the PGA Tour versus LIV.
Which door Kim walks by means of stays to be seen. But the truth that he’s knocking may have golf followers clamoring to see the place he performs subsequent — and what he appears to be like like when he does.
