Anthony Kim's LIV Adelaide victory is an inspiring tale of resilience and redemption, marking a pivotal moment in one of golf's most captivating narratives. Unlike many who would hail it as the sport's greatest comeback, Kim himself wants to inspire others facing their own struggles. After his triumph in Adelaide, Kim shared his simple yet powerful lesson: 'Don't f***ing quit.'
Kim's journey is a testament to the power of perseverance. Once a golf prodigy, he became a drug and alcohol addict, ceasing to play a dozen years ago. At 40, he teed off in Adelaide, five shots behind the Spanish former world number one, and delivered a flawless 9-under 63, finishing 23-under and overtaking Rahm (20-under).
His redemption round was marked by a tournament-defining stretch of five birdies in six holes from the 12th, earning him a total of nine birdies and the $US4 million ($5.7 million) winner's cheque. Kim's return to golf after a decade-long battle with addiction is a remarkable story of transformation.
The Californian burst onto the global golf scene after turning pro in 2006. He holds the record for most birdies in a round at the US Masters (11), is a three-time US PGA Tour winner, and a Ryder Cup champion. However, in 2014, he stopped playing due to his addiction, and it took him nearly a decade to get clean.
'I wasn't the best person, the best partner, the best whatever you want to call it, the best son, I could be when I was younger,' Kim reflected. 'But who I am today is a completely different person. With God, my family, and my sobriety being the key things in my life, I can go as far as I want.'
Now sober for three years, Kim returned to golf with LIV in 2024 as a reserve but lost his card at the end of the last season. He scraped back as a reserve via an international playoff and, this week, joined a LIV team for the first time. Kim's triumph in Adelaide, witnessed by over 115,000 spectators, the biggest crowd of any Australian golf event, was a moment of universal acclaim.
On winning, Kim hugged his four-year-old daughter Bella and wife Emily as tears flowed on the 18th green. Reflecting on his struggles, Kim said, 'I'm going to try to leave a lot of details out, but I will tell her that before she came into this world, I didn't feel any purpose in my life. Whether you have a lot of money or success, you still can feel lonely and feel like the world is against you.'
Kim's triumph was met with universal acclaim from his rivals, with Australian veteran Marc Leishman encapsulating the sentiment: 'He was a gun. He had almost an aura about him, somewhat for his golf, somewhat for his partying. 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. I hope that people realize how it's a fairytale, it really is. Not just golf, but life.'
Leishman and his fellow Australians fell short in their quest to become the first local winner of Adelaide's individual LIV crown. Lucas Herbert (16-under) was best-placed, followed by Leishman and Cam Smith, both on 15-under, with Elvis Smylie, the 23-year-old who won the individual title on his LIV debut last weekend in Saudi Arabia, at 9-under. The quartet's combined feats helped their all-Australian Ripper GC win the teams event by two strokes from Rahm's Legion XIII.
