LIV Golf+
Anthony Kim returning to play professional golf is one of the golf world’s biggest stories of 2024. He has now sat with David Feherty for an interview on why he left golf, what he did while he was gone, and why he has returned to LIV Golf, all while clearing up some rumors.
Prior to getting injured in 2012 and completely disappearing from the public eye, he was poised to be the next major PGA Tour star. Anthony Kim was just the fifth golfer ever to win three times on the PGA Tour before the age of 25 then poof, he was gone. But now he’s back and he’s speaking candidly in a new interview that’s been published in full on LIV Golf+ but I have transcribed a lot of it below.
David Faherty says Anthony Kim did a “disappearing act” which is pretty accurate as Kim completely disappeared from golf and the public eye back in 2012 when he seemed poised to become a star. When asked where he went, Anthony Kim tells Feherty “I really didn’t leave the house.”
He added that he “watched a lot of reality TV, ate a lot of food, and really just hung out with (his) animals. And occasionally had a good time.” When asked “what sort of menagerie” he had, Anthony says at one point he had six dogs and two monkeys. Saying it was “an animal house, literally and figuratively.”
Where Did Anthony Kim Go When He Left Golf in 2012?
When Kim left golf in 2012 it followed an Achilles tendon injury that required surgery which was coupled with an insurance settlement that is often discussed but very little is known about it. David Feherty pressed Anthony Kim for details on that, asking him what he did in the interim between when he disappeared followign surgery in 2012 and his reemergence on the LIV Golf Tour in 2024.
Kim’s response was expected, saying “I’m not at liberty to talk about the details of the settlement (and) what happened regarding that.” But then it gets interesting as Anthony Kim addresses the rumors of what happened.
He says “I know public opinion is that I took this money and ran and decided that I was gonna just hang out. But that wasn’t the case at all. I had multiple, multiple surgeries (within) a few years. And my body is still not what it used to be.”
When asked if all of the surgeries were on the Achilles tendon, Anthony Kim says he has had multiple shoulder and hand surgeries over the years and a spinal fusion. Saying he’s “had a lot of injuries and a lot of surgeries.”
Despite all of those surgeries, Anthony tells David Feherty that he believes he’s hitting the ball further now than he did when he was on the PGA Tour. Joking that maybe “some of the metal is helping” after all of his surgeries.
Interestingly, Anthony Kim says the PGA Tour did reach out to him at some point about the possibility of him playing on the PGA Tour again. Kim tells Feherty he “weighed both options” between LIV Golf and the PGA Tour and says that through all of his experiences he’s learned that he has to remain true to who he is. Adding that he has taken some unnecessary risks in the past and now he’s more calculated in life but will keep taking risks in the future.
Kim On His Expectations For This LIV Golf Season: That’s A Tough Question
As for his expectations on LIV Golf now that he’s back and playing competitive/professional golf again, he says it’s a tough question to answer because he’s played at the highest level before “but at the same time, I understand I’ve taken 12 years away from the game and obviously there are lots of opinions (on) whether I’ve played a lot of golf or not and the honest answer is no, I have not played any golf until about two and a half months ago.”
He goes on to say he started playing around two and a half to three months ago when he got a phone call from LIV Golf CEO Greg Norman about possibly playing again. At that point, Kim says he “wasn’t even considering playing golf.”
So in the context of his expectations for playing on the LIV Golf Tour, Anthony tells David Feherty it’s to “just take it day to day, work hard, and see where that gets” him. He says there’s a lot of rust being away for a long time and the guys on the Tour(s) are just getting better.
Did Anthony Kim use drugs?
David Feherty pressed Kim on the ‘good times’ in this clip. Feherty says he had his own fair share of good times and Anthony Kim responds by saying he has no memory of those times which is an interesting way to describe it:
It’s a yes but also a denial in some ways. The ‘good times’ existed but he literally has no memory of them. Adding that he has personality with a predilection toward addiction. And that he thought at 22 or 23 he was supposed to be having those good times. But said “it can get out of hand” with his combination of personality and success.
He also said he has “shed 98% of the people” that were around him back then. Adding that there were people who took advantage of him, “scam artists,” and people who blackmailed him. But is here to tell his story and seems excited about what is ahead and the challenges he faces.
For now, Anthony Kim is a wild card player on the LIV Tour. It remains to be seen if he’ll join a team in the coming months but he will play solo at the LIV Golf Miami invitational this week from April 5-7, a final tune up for many LIV players ahead of The Masters next week.