So the rumor has become reality. Anthony Kim, the former La Quinta High School star who went on to stardom on the PGA Tour, is heading back to competitive golf after an 11-year absence because of injuries.
It is not the PGA Tour, but the LIV Tour event in Jeddah in Saudi Arabia, where Kim will make his return to the game.
Kim’s potential return has been rumored since he left the game with wrist and ankle injuries. Most figured he was probably happy not playing golf, or at least only playing recreationally, and living off his $12 million in winnings and a $10 million insurance policy. Now, for love of the game or love of LIV money, Kim is back.
But what will fans witness when Kim returns to the game? Here are five things we’re wondering:
What will happen this weekend?
Kim might go out and shoot 66 in the first round and take the lead. Kim might shoot 90 in the first round and be in last place.
This is an 11-year break we are talking about, and in that 11 years, Kim has kept a very low profile, not putting his golf game on display for anyone.
So we really don’t know what kind of game Kim will have this week. It’s easy to assume that Kim wouldn’t show up if he felt his game was not in decent shape, but playing in competition is different than hitting balls on the practice range.
What should our expectations be?
Anthony Kim raises the trophy after winning the Wachovia Championship golf tournament in Charlotte, N.C., Sunday, May 4, 2008.
Can you name more than one or two athletes who have taken significant breaks in their careers and come back as good or better than before?
Not really.
Most come back with the occasional flash of the brilliance that made their name in the first place, but the ravages of time and the improvement of the competition makes it hard to come back to relevance in sports.
Is it about the money?
This is the LIV Tour, after all, so of course a large part of the decision to return to golf was the guaranteed upfront money that players get.
Kim is probably no different than the other players who have signed with LIV in chasing the upfront money.
But does that give him an incentive to play great, or incentive to show up on time and complete 54 holes for the cash?
Kim will be an attraction, but a star?
Anthony Kim lines up his putt on the 13th green during the first round of the Sony Open golf tournament, Friday, Jan. 14, 2011, in Honolulu.
Kim had star power 12 or 13 years ago, but how much of that still exists is a big question. He certainly doesn’t have the star power of Jon Rahm or Brooks Koepka or Bryson DeChambeau on the LIV Tour today.
So Kim might attract a crowd and he might sell some tickets in his first few weeks on the LIV, but will he play well enough to be anything but an attraction on the tour? Other golfers who were not the biggest names on the PGA Tour, like Talor Gooch, have found success on the LIV Tour and exceeded the status of attraction to become stars. Will that be Kim’s ultimate destiny?
Will this last?
Some players have gone to the LIV Tour and been stars, and others have disappeared. Kim won’t be a member of one of the LIV teams this year, and he’ll have to prove to himself and fans that he still has the game to watch.
If he isn’t a driving force on the LIV Tour in the coming months, will he stick around and keep playing? Could he actually start to miss playing on the PGA Tour? Or if his game isn’t competitive, could we see him go back to the comfort of his retirement life, knowing that he at least gave it a try?
The future with Anthony Kim, just like the past, is a little bit cloudy in that regard.
Larry Bohannan is the golf writer for The Desert Sun. You can contact him at (760) 778-4633 or at larry.bohannan@desertsun.com. Follow him on Facebook or on Twitter at @larry_bohannan. Support local journalism. Subscribe to The Desert Sun.
