[PHOTO: David Cannon]
Anthony Kim made one of the biggest jumps in the history of the Official World Golf Ranking overnight. And all it took was a made cut.
To be fair, there was nowhere to go but up. The 39-year-old hadn’t earned world-ranking points since a T-42 finish at the 2012 Honda Classic when he was still playing on the PGA Tour.
Kim entered last week’s Asian Tour International Series event in Qatar ranked No.4,595. But a T-37 vaulted him to 2,314th when the latest edition of the ranking was released. For added context, newly crowned Australian Open champion Ryggs Johnston leapt from 954th to 316th, while runner-up Curtis Luck moved from 467th to 294th.
After more than a decade away from the game, Kim returned to competitive golf earlier this year playing as a wildcard for LIV Golf. He finished 56th out of 57 players in the 2024 season standings, but LIV events aren’t recognised by the OWGR.
🚨NEWSFLASH
It's official, after 12+ years, Anthony Kim will earn #OWGR points again! Currently T26 in Qatar… Last time he earned world ranking points was at the Honda Classic in 2012… pic.twitter.com/x2ySQONHXI
— Nosferatu (@VC606) November 30, 2024
Kim’s status for LIV’s 2025 season remains unclear, but he sounded very confident about his comeback after his finish in Qatar, where fellow LIV golfer Peter Uihlein won. Kim said after the event that it’s “just a matter of time” before he’ll be “contending on Sundays” again.
“I know a lot of people have probably seen my last year and don’t think that’s possible, but I think it’s going to happen,” Kim told Gulf News.
Kim peaked at No.6 in the OWGR after a T-3 at the 2008 Tour Championship.
