This time last week, Anthony Kim wasn’t even sure he’d make it to Australia to compete in LIV Golf Adelaide, the league’s marquee event. After pulling off an improbable comeback victory on Sunday, he’s very glad he did.
Following a solid but not spectacular T-22 in the season-opener in Riyadh, Kim, still a wild-card player without a team, tweeted that while he was excited for Australia, he didn’t apply for a visa. The LIV charter would be leaving from Saudi Arabia without him:
https://twitter.com/AnthonyKim_Golf/status/2020268812919267350
Fortunately Kim still had time to apply for the visa, which is required for U.S. citizens traveling to Australia for tourism or business for less than 90 days. Though Kim still had no answer last Sunday.
RELATED: Anthony Kim’s message after his improbable victory was both raw and inspirational
“NO answer on visa yet because it’s Sunday in Australia,” Kim wrote on Twitter. “Very hopeful to get an answer by Monday so I can play one of my favorite stops.”
Three hours later, Kim confirmed his visa was approved:
https://twitter.com/AnthonyKim_Golf/status/2020546638209585166
A few days later, not only had Kim made it to Australia, but he was signed to Dustin Johnson’s 4Aces as a replacement for Patrick Reed. Kim started off strong with consecutive 67s, then a third-round 68 that put him in solo third, five shots back of Jon Rahm and Bryson DeChambeau.
Pre-2026, that would have been an excellent finish for Kim, by far the best of his LIV career. But with the breakaway league switching to the 72-hole format for this season, Kim had one more round and it served as the perfect stage to complete his comeback from the golf abyss. And to think, had his visa not gotten approved at the 11th hour, it would have never happened.
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This article was originally published on golfdigest.com
