The latest chapter in Anthony Kim's fascinating return to golf is due to take place this weekend as the American makes his first start on home soil in 12 years.
Kim - previously a member of the PGA Tour - is in the early days of his second stint as a professional following over a decade away from the sport. He last teed it up at the Wells Fargo Championship on Thursday, May 3, 2012 and shot 74 before withdrawing from the PGA Tour event prior to Friday's second round at Quail Hollow.
He is now part of the LIV Golf League's roster, however, joining as one of two wildcard players for the remainder of the 2024 campaign.
After missing the first two LIV Golf tournaments this season, Kim made his debut in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia but finished last on 16-over - 11 shots behind his wildcard rival, Hudson Swafford.
A slightly brighter showing at LIV Golf Hong Kong one week later, capped off by a final-round performance of five-under which left him 50th of 54, provided a degree of optimism among fans.
However, in a first four-round tournament on the Asian Tour at the International Series Macau, Kim missed the cut by eight shots as a result of carding a 74 and a 70, respectively.
But, following a couple of weeks rest (and practice), the enigmatic golfer will be striving for a return to some sort of relative form in more familiar surroundings.
LIV Golf Miami is taking place at Trump National Doral between April 5-7 and marks the fifth tournament on the 12-tournament calendar. The former Ryder Cup player will once again be a part of the field.
A story that reaches beyond golf 🙌“I’m able to tell my story and hopefully inspire other people” 💬Watch the full @AnthonyKim_Golf Journey Back interview with @Fehertwit dropping on LIV Golf + tomorrow at 9AM ET 👀#LIVGolf pic.twitter.com/jEeXUqjuoSApril 1, 2024
And his latest start arrived days after the 38-year-old told the story about his lengthy hiatus from the game.
An exclusive interview with LIV Golf's David Feherty called 'The Journey Back' went live at 9 a.m. ET Tuesday and included Kim sharing answers on why he seemingly disappeared from the golfing landscape without a trace as well as stories about owning monkeys and being told he could not have kids.
In a short clip released by LIV on Monday, Kim revealed he has shed about 98% of the people he used to associate with, labelling some as "snakes" and "scam artists" who "took advantage of him."
“I’m not going to lie, I was around some bad people,” Kim said. “People that took advantage of me, scam artists. And when you’re 24 or 25, even 30 years old, you don’t realize the snakes that are living under your roof.”
He continued: “But through the grace of God, I’m here. I’m able to tell my story, hopefully inspire other people and, again, my daughter’s going to be proud of me no matter how I play and that’s the most important thing to me.”
