Can Anthony Kim, once compared to Tiger Woods, make a return to professional Golf in 2023?

US golfer Anthony Kim left an illustrious career behind him when he walked away from golf in 2012 after injuring his Achilles tendon. He underwent surgery and took time off to recover.

He won his first PGA Tour event in 2008 at just the age of 22. His victory announced to the world that he was a force to be reckoned with. He was even touted to be the next Tiger Woods. In the next four years, he won several more titles.

His former golf swing coach Adam Schriber admitted to having played golf with Anthony Kim twice in the past two years. He said that his golf swing was just the way it was when Kim was still competing.

In 2023, Kim is only 37 years old. It is a young age for a golfer, who generally has a longer shelf life than other sports. Tiger Woods is 46 years old and returning from a severe right leg injury. Phil Mickelson became the oldest US Open winner at the age of 50 and is still playing.

So, if age is a factor, then Kim should have no issues returning to professional golf in 2023. And if what Schriber has said about his golf swing is correct, then Kim hasn't suffered many losses to his masterclass of skills. Of course, he might have to work on his form and fitness, but that shouldn't be much of a problem.

So if he wants, Anthony Kim can return to professional golf in 2023.

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Why is Anthony Kim not returning to golf?

Anthony Kim at the Iskandar Johor Open - Day Two (Image via Ian Walton/Getty Images)

When Anthony Kim was still competing, he had taken out an insurance policy for his body. He received pay cheques every month while he recuperated from his several injuries. However, reports suggest that the payout would have stopped if he had returned to golf.

In 2015, three years after he stepped away from the game, Kim spoke to Associated Press Reporter and admitted to receiving an insurance payout. However, he denied claims that it kept him away from the sport. He said that he was still healing his different injuries.

This reason was not satisfactory for fans who had watched him in awe as he dominated the greens in his time.

One reason that can be cited is that he had probably outgrown golf. He shared a tense relationship with his father, Paul, who also honed his skills growing up. There are several stories, one of which says Paul once threw Kim's second-place finish trophy in the trash.

Supposedly, the father and son went two years without speaking to each other after a fallout when Anthony Kim was in college. In 2006, after Kim returned from college, he stayed with Adam Schriber in Michigan.

He trained in the mornings and slept on the living room couch at night. He spent the afternoons playing with Schriber's children, fishing, kayaking, hiking, and doing activities that he never got to do as a child prodigy.

Perhaps that was his first introduction to life without golf. He even called it the "best summer" of his life. After that summer in Michigan, he soon secured a second-place finish at his PGA Tour event, the Valero Texas Open. With a whopping $300,000 prize money, he bought a condo in Dallas.

When LIV Golf was established last year, many thought he would join the league. However, that didn't happen.

Anthony Kim may or may not return to golf, but the fans would certainly hope that he does.