It’s been nearly a dozen years since Anthony Kim hit a competitive golf shot at the 2012 Wells Fargo Championship. Perhaps even more remarkably, we’re also coming up on a decade since the former PGA Tour star’s last public comments. But while the former will change Friday when he tees it up at the LIV Golf Jeddah event, the latter finally happened on Wednesday. And AK didn’t disappoint.
After only teasing Kim’s appearance in a promo video earlier this week, LIV unleashed a video onslaught on Wednesday. First, a hype video of Kim rolling up to the clubhouse ahead of this week’s event in Jeddah. Then a more polished ad for his return – that coincided with his return to social media. And, finally, a video of Kim hitting golf shots and answering questions on the course. Have a look – and listen:
"I've missed the competitive part of the game" 💬#LIVGolf @anthonykim_golf pic.twitter.com/gzr05OdyMn
— LIV Golf (@livgolf_league) February 28, 2024
“I feel great, been a long time coming,” Kim says in the video, his first interview since speaking with the Associated Press’ Doug Ferguson in September of 2015. “Right now I’m focused on playing good this week, I’ve got a few weeks of competitive golf in front of me. So I’ll tell my story when it’s the right time, but right now I’m focused on golf.”
Clad in a “GIRL DAD” t-shirt, Kim said, “I’m excited to be out here with my daughter and my family, and just enjoy the experience that LIV is providing.”
Kim also spoke about what lured him back. Besides whatever LIV is paying him, of course.
“I think I missed the competitive part of the game. I wouldn’t just say it was golf, but just being in the heat of the moment and having the opportunity to do something special. I’m looking forward to having that opportunity again.”
The ad promoting his return was well done, but the ending had many golf fans puzzled:
“HELLO HATERS, I’M BACK.”
Doubters, sure. But “HATERS”? Golf fans have been begging for this guy to come back for more than a decade! Anyway, Kim also addressed all that time away from the game in his walk-and-talk interview.
“Eleven years off is a long time, but I feel like I was blessed with a little bit of talent, and a little bit of hard work can go a long way, so I’m expecting good results,” said Kim, who added he’s not feeling any nerves yet, but that might change on the first tee on Friday.
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And finally, Kim, who will be playing as a wildcard for the rest of the LIV season and not as a member of one of the league’s 13 teams, had a message to the rest of field.
“I’m 38 now so I don’t know quite a few of the guys,” he said, “but I’m here to bust everyone’s ass.”
There you have it, folks. Anthony Kim is back – and so is that trademark swagger.
