5 things to know about Anthony Kim ahead of his big LIV Golf debut

Anthony Kim is set to make his comeback in professional golf after more than a 10-year hiatus. He has signed a lucrative deal with LIV Golf and will make his return at the LIV Invitational Jeddah as a wildcard.

Kim has been out of professional golf since 2012 after his career was marred by several injuries. However, now he will return to professional golf after signing a reported deal of $5–7.5 million to join the Saudi-backed league upon Greg Norman's persuasion.

In this article, we will look into five things about Anthony Kim ahead of his much-anticipated comeback.

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Five things to know about Anthony Kim

#1 Turned pro in 2006

Anthony Kim turned pro in 2006 at the age of 21. He made his PGA Tour debut at the Valero Texas Open that year and announced himself by making a joint runner-up finish.

Kim played the Southern Farm Bureau Classic too that year and made a T16 finish that year. Later in 2006, he earned the PGA Tour card for the 2007 season after making a T13 finish at the qualifying event.

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#2 Impressive rookie season on the PGA Tour

Anthony Kim didn't win a title in his rookie season on the PGA Tour, but it was impressive enough to draw everyone's eyes. He made 26 starts in the 2007 season and made a cut in 20 of them. He registered ten top 25s, including four top 10s. He made it to the weekend of both the US Open and the PGA Championship, the two majors he played that year.

At the US Open, Kim's debut major start, he shot a 67 in the final round and jumped 37 spots to finish T20 at the event. The 67 was the lowest round of the day and the second-lowest of the event. The solid start of his PGA Tour career helped Kim jump inside the top 100 in the OWGR.

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#3 Won two events in his second year on the PGA Tour

Anthony Kim didn't take long to win his first title on the PGA Tour, and his second win came even quicker. After two top threes and three missed cuts in the first three starts, Kim finished 16-under to win the 2008 Wachovia Championship, beating Ben Curtis by five strokes.

A couple of months and just three starts later, Kim won the AT&T National to beat Freddie Jacobson by two shots. He then finished T7 in his debut at the Open Championship. Overall, he had eight top tens that year, and he also jumped to sixth in the OWGR, his career-best ranking.

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#4 Played an important role in the 2008 Ryder Cup

Kim was also part of the 2008 US Ryder Cup squad, the only time he participated in the biennial event. He finished fifth in the US Points List to earn the automatic berth for the event that took place at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Kentucky.

Kim played four matches and finished with an overall scoreline of 2-1-1 to earn 2.5 points. His second win came at the Sunday singles, as he beat veteran Sergio Garcia 5 & 4. Team US eventually beat the European squad by 16.5–11.5.

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#5 Trouble with injuries and long hiatus

After such a promising start to his career, Anthony Kim started being compared with Tiger Woods.

In the next few years, he continued to give impressive performances. He won his third title in 2010 and became only the fifth player to win three titles before turning 25. However, the same year, he faced his first serious injury, forcing him to remain out of most of the 2010 season. Besides, he also missed the Ryder Cup qualification this time.

Kim had trouble with a few more injuries the following year. He underwent surgery for his Achilles tendon injury but was forced to stay away from the game. Since then, he has received $10-20 million in insurance over the years as per the PGA Tour's disability insurance policy.