Anthony Kim outscores Phil Mickelson by 4 shots at LIV Golf Hong Kong despite comeback struggles

Anthony Kim's comeback to pro golf isn’t going as planned. The 38-year-old continued to struggle on Friday following an opening round of 76 at LIV Golf Hong Kong.

Despite the low score, the golfer coming back from a 12-year hiatus, outscored Phil Mickelson by four shots. Starting on 10 with a bogey, Kim double-bogeyed 11 and made a par on the three-shot 12th at the Hong Kong Golf Club.

He went on to card a six on the par-5 13th. He made eight inoffensive holes in a row with only birdie of the day on the 288-yard par-4 fourth hole.

Kim finished six-over and sat T52 on the 54-man leaderboard. He shared the position with fellow LIV Golf wildcard player, Hudson Swafford.

While Kim struggled, Phil Mickelson had a shocking round. The six-time Major champion, a LIV Golf marquee signing, endured a torrid afternoon in Hong Kong, finishing 10-over at the tight par-70 course.

The ace golfer carded three double-bogeys and four bogeys in a forgettable round of 80. Mickelson, considered one of the best left-handed golfers of all time, looked aimless on the greens.

For the unversed, Kim had a poor start on his comeback tournament at LIV Golf Jeddah. The American golfer played a final round 4-over 74, improving on his two opening 76’s.

Despite the effort, he finished last in the competition. However, the rounds were better than Mickelson’s bogey-free outing on Friday.

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LIV Golf Hong Kong 2024 Day 1 leaderboard

After the opening round, Dean Burmester and Abraham Ancer led the LIV Golf Hong Kong leaderboard.

The Stinger GC and Fireballs GC team members set an early pace on seven-under, a shot ahead of the rest of the field.

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Complete leaderboard for the LIV Golf Hong Kong 2024 round 1

• T1: Abraham Ancer: 7 under
• T1: Dean Burmester: 7 under
• T3: Martin Kaymer: 6 under
• T3: Louis Oosthuizen: 6 under
• T3: Matt Jones: 6 under
• T3: Charles Howell III: 6 under
• T3: Eugenio Lopez-Chacarra: 6 under
• T3: Harold Varner III: 6 under
• T9: Brooks Koepka: 5 under
• T9: Bryson DeChambeau: 5 under
• T11: Paul Casey: 4 under
• T11: Sebastian Munoz: 4 under
• T11: Richard Bland: 4 under
• T11: Anirban Lahiri: 4 under
• T11: Henrik Stenson: 4 under
• T11: Ian Poulter: 4 under
• T11: Cameron Tringale: 4 under
• T18: Jon Rahm: 3 under
• T18: Scott Vincent: 3 under
• T18: Cameron Smith: 3 under
• T18: Matthew Wolff: 3 under
• T18: Joaquin Niemann: 3 under
• T18: Kevin Na: 3 under
• T18: Patrick Reed: 3 under
• T18: Branden Grace: 3 under
• T26: Carlos Ortiz: 2 under
• T26: Marc Leishman: 2 under
• T26: Adrian Meronk: 2 under
• T26: Tyrrell Hatton: 2 under
• T26: Bubba Watson: 2 under
• T31: Talor Gooch: 1 under
• T31: Graeme McDowell: 1 under
• T31: Andy Ogletree: 1 under
• T31: Pat Perez: 1 under
• T31: Guillermo Mito Pereira: 1 under
• T31: Kalle Samooja: 1 under
• T31: Kieran Vincent: 1 under
• T38: Lucas Herbert: even par
• T38: Danny Lee: even par
• T38: Jinichiro Kozuma: even par
• T38: Caleb Surratt: even par
• T38: Brendan Steele: even par
• T38: Charl Schwartzel: even par
• T38: Dustin Johnson: even par
• T45: Sergio Garcia: 1 over
• T45: Thomas Pieters: 1 over
• T45: Sam Horsfield: 1 over
• 48: David Puig: 2 over
• T49: Peter Uihlein: 3 over
• T49: Jason Kokrak: 3 over
• 51: Lee Westwood: 4 over
• T52: Hudson Swafford: 6 over
• T52: Anthony Kim: 6 over
• 54: Phil Mickelson: 10 over

More details on the LIV Golf Hong Kong 2024 will be updated as the event progresses.