Only a few years ago, Anthony Kim was the great, young hope of American golf.
Then, he disappeared.
Kim emerged for his first interview in three years recently with the Associated Press and said he might be might be ready to make a comeback that was inspired by the legitimate new American hope, Jordan Spieth.
“I’ve been watching more and more,” Kim said of the PGA Tour, where his star rose and fell so quickly after he came out of Southern California and the University of Oklahoma. “I miss the competition a little bit.
“Watching these young guys like Jordan Spieth is bringing me back to watch.”
Just when that might happen, Kim couldn’t say.
The native of Los Angeles who moved with his family to the Palm Springs area when his talent became evident as a teenager, Kim hasn’t played on the PGA Tour since he withdrew from the 2012 Wells Fargo Championship after shooting 74 in the first round.
“Here’s what I’m telling you today,” said Kim, who graduated from La Quinta High. “I’m going to step away from the game for a little while and get my body pieced together.
“Instead of going from an Achilles injury to try to go 180 mph and not fixing the problem … I’ve got so much ground to make up from injuries–rotator cuff, labrum, spinal fusion, hand injury. I’ve had six or seven surgeries in the last three-and-a-half years.”
Go away for a while? He’s already been gone for more than three seasons.
Kim claimed his first of his three PGA Tour victory in the 2008 Wachovia by five strokes over Ben Curtis and added the AT&T National later in the year. When he captured the 2010 Shell Houston Open in a playoff over Vaughn Taylor, nobody guessed that might be his last victory.
Despite those victories, the high-water mark of Kim’s career might have come when he routed Sergio Garcia of Spain, 5 and 4, in the opening Sunday singles match to kick-start the United States to a 16 1/2-11 1/2 victory over Europe in the 2008 Ryder Cup at Valhalla.
Kim’s career actually started to unravel in 2010 after his victory in Houston and a solo third in the Masters. He tried to play through a left thumb injury later in the year, eventually had surgery and came back too soon.
His game has never been the same.
Even at his best, Kim’s dedication to the game was questioned and his well-documented wild lifestyle off the course sometimes got as many headlines as his game. He remains unapologetic.
“If you don’t like the way I live, change the channel,” said Kim, who in a 2010 episode at the Bellagio in Las Vegas was asked to tone down his language in the casino. “You’re the one who tuned in here.
“A lot of the golf public may not appreciate the way I live, which is by my own rules. But I give everyone respect. I’m not rude to anyone. And I treat everyone the same.”
Kim has an open major medical extension from the PGA Tour and would have to earn $613,500 in 16 events if and when he returns to regain his playing privileges. That doesn’t seem like much when you consider he made more than $12 million in five years through 2012.
Even though he admitted that he is receiving healthy monthly payments from an insurance policy he took out five years ago in case he was injured and unable to play, Kim denied that is keeping him away from the game.
More telling when it comes to a possible comeback is the fact that he said he has not played a full round of golf in almost 18 months.
Said Kim: “Golf is a fond memory of mine.”
Sadly, it seems it’s going to remain that way.
