By TOM LaMARRE
Anthony Kim, recovering from surgery on his left Achilles tendon last June, will not return to the PGA Tour until March, it was reported by Larry Bohannan of the Desert Sun in Palm Springs.
At the time of the surgery, recovery time was estimated to be from nine to 12 months.
The 27-year-old Kim was a rising star on the PGA Tour, despite reports that he partied hearty and was not serious about practice, before he tore a ligament in his left thumb and underwent surgery a few weeks after the Masters in 2010.
After posting only two top-10 finishes in 26 outings in 2011, missing the cut 11 times, and struggled again last year because of tendonitis in the thumb, making the cut only twice in 10 outings.
Kim was running near his home in Dallas when he ruptured his left Achilles tendon.
After leaving the University of Oklahoma following his junior year and turning pro, Kim tied for second in his first tournament, the Valero Texas Open, and then tied for 16th in the Southern Farm Bureau Classic before earning his playing card by tying for 13th in the PGA Tour Qualifying School that December.
Kim, who had captured the California Interscholastic Federation’s Southern Section championship as a sophomore at La Quinta High in 2001, had a successful rookie season on the PGA Tour, even though he did not win a tournament, earning $1.5 million.
In 2008, he claimed his first victory at the Wachovia Championship and two months later captured the AT&T National title. Late in the year, he helped the United States reclaim the Ryder Cup at Valhalla, setting the tone for a big Sunday by the Americans with a rousing singles victory over Sergio Garcia in the first match of the day.
Kim was drawing some comparisons to Tiger Woods, when he captured the 2010 Shell Houston Open and tied for seventh in the Masters.
Not much has gone right for him since.
