[Photo: Mark Brake/Getty Images]
Anthony Kim’s ascent from a life and career abyss reached its zenith today at the Grange Golf Club with an electrifying closing round to vanquish two of golf’s modern titans and win LIV Golf Adelaide.
The 40-year-old American carded a bogey-free, nine-under 63 to catch then pass a spluttering Bryson DeChambeau and a listless Jon Rahm for the biggest moment of his career since Kim’s third and final PGA Tour victory 16 years ago.
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Meanwhile, there was more joy for the all-Australian Ripper GC quartet as the Cam Smith-led squad captured the teams title to start the 2026 season with back-to-back victories.
While their union continues to bear fruit, Kim’s comeback stole the show during a raucous final day.
A week that began with visa complications even getting into Australia ended in triumph for Kim. He began Sunday five shots in arrears of Rahm and DeChambeau but the Spaniard was hamstrung by a run of pars as the pursuers hurled birdies in his direction. DeChambeau fared worse, bogeying four of the first seven holes to look anything but the man who plucked nine birdies from an 11-hole stretch a day earlier.
No one charged harder than Kim, who shot the round of the day by two shots while staring down a pair of multiple major winners.
When he tapped in to complete the fairytale on the 18th green – gesturing for the crowd to be louder rather than quieter – Kim had completed a three-stroke victory over Rahm (71), with DeChambeau (74) sharing third place alongside Tyrrell Hatton (67) and Peter Uihlein (68).
In what was the largest attendance of any Australian golf tournament ever, the crowd support for Kim was palpable today, even with multiple Aussies in contention.
When Kim rolled in his sixth birdie of the day on the 13th green to hit the outright lead, the dedicated Ripper Point marquee behind the green erupted with a cheer that was matched for passion only by the golfer’s fist pump.
The Anthony Kim story is irresistible. One of the hottest and most charismatic stars in the game 15 years ago dropped off the face of the earth, almost literally, venturing down a dangerous path that included addiction and suicidal thoughts. He was scarcely sighted in public for more than a decade and reached enigma status.
Marriage and fatherhood helped lift him out of the darkness.
However, he hadn’t touched a club for seven years when LIV Golf threw him a lifeline two years ago. A series of uninspiring performances mostly marked his return before something clicked in his game late last year despite being relegated from the league. In an act of sheer defiance, Kim scored a legitimate place on the league via a third-place finish at the LIV Golf Promotions tournament last month.
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Sixteen years’ worth of pieces came together in Adelaide this week. Playing like the Kim of old rather than a player ranked 847th in the world, he fed off a closing 66 in Riyadh last week that gave him a share of 22nd place. Earlier this week came the announcement he was joining Dustin Johnson’s 4Aces GC, relinquishing his “wildcard” status to replace the departed Patrick Reed and become part of a LIV team.
Rounds of 67-67-68 were cause for enthusiasm. By Sunday, it was vintage Kim – the same Anthony Kim who was so ‘in to’ his Ryder Cup singles match in 2008 that he didn’t realise when he’d beaten Sergio Garcia.
Today, four straight birdies from the 12th hole – all with mid-range putts – drew increasingly emotive reactions. The swagger was back as Kim channelled his 23-year-old self to revive a career once lost.
“I know my self-belief is second to none,” Kim said. “Obviously taking 12-and-a-half years off the game is a long time, and you have to build that confidence back.
“When I was in my 20s, I was never scared to play anybody. I’m not scared to play anybody now. I know this is just one golf tournament, but I believe in myself. That will never change.
“I might actually watch the movie ‘Frozen’,” he added of his plans for a celebration. “I don’t know, man. I didn’t plan this far. I planned to be contending to win golf tournaments, but I hadn’t gotten this far.”
Marc Leishman was effusive in his praise for Kim’s incredible comeback: “To see where he’s come from and then I’ve actually spoken to him a fair bit over the past couple of years about a few of his experiences, and I mean, it’s an unbelievable story, the place he got to and how close he was to not being here. I’m not talking about in Adelaide, I’m talking about not being on this planet.”
“It’s so good,” Smith added. “If it wasn’t one of us this week, to have him win here in Adelaide at our premier event is pretty cool. I’m so happy for him. He’s worked hard.
“I actually played with Anthony his first round back in Saudi a few years ago. It was scrappy, to say the least, and I was very sceptical at the start. But what he’s been able to do over the past couple of seasons – dig deep and grind out and then do what he did today is pretty special. Congrats to him. I’m so happy for him.”
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The unlikely result was the culmination of an absorbing final day in Adelaide. The lethargic start by DeChambeau and lack of momentum for Rahm allowed Kim and others into the picture. Warm weather, minimal wind and a golf course drying out by the moment combined for high drama.
The Australians played bit parts in the individual competition. Lucas Herbert birdied half of his first 10 holes to draw within a shot of the lead before three straight bogeys from the 11th stalled his charge.
Two bogeys on par 5s crushed Smith’s hopes of an outright victory, but the constant punch and counter-punch from the side once known as Punch GC gave the Aussies continued momentum all afternoon. Elvis Smylie, who was the weakest of the Rippers individually all week, still found seven birdies in a Sunday 69 (T-27) to help his side.
Then, Leishman rolled in a 40-foot putt on his final hole of the day to cap a 65 (T-8) and give Ripper GC the outright team lead. When Herbert (69 for T-6) and Smith (70 for T-8) matched birdies at the penultimate hole to send the team to 55-under and seal the title.
“Best two weeks in the world,” Smylie said afterwards.
The teams event was a two-way battle all day, with the all-Australian Ripper GC quickly closing the five-shot gap it trailed Legion XIII by overnight. The two squads went shot-for-shot all day before late birdies made the difference for Ripper. Torque GC moved into the frame briefly when Joaquin Niemann pitched in for eagle at the 18th hole, and Kim’s heroics lifted 4Aces to third spot, but this was Ripper’s moment… and Kim’s.
His remarkable victory in Adelaide is proof that in golf, as in life, sometimes it’s not about the heights you achieve; often it’s the depths from which you have risen.
“I want to inspire people,” Kim said. “I told my wife this: the only way I get to reach the amount of people I want to reach is by winning. I can talk about my struggles all I want, but if I don’t have the platform, then I won’t reach as many people.
“When I was in rehab, that was my goal. I said, if I got out of here, I’d like to help people, and golf wasn’t in the picture. So to be able to have this platform, to have HE and LIV welcome me with open arms has been tremendous in my growth and my self-belief that other people believe in me. So absolutely. My goal is to inspire the people that are struggling because I feel like the world needs more of that today.”
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