Sixteen years.
That’s how long it’s been since Anthony Kim last lifted a trophy. The world looked very different back then. The iPad had just launched. Instagram didn’t exist. LIV Golf wasn’t even an idea.
On Sunday morning in Australia, Kim changed his story — and golf’s — in one of the most improbable comebacks the sport has seen.
The 40-year-old stunned the field at LIV Australia, winning by three shots at Royal Adelaide after a flawless, bogey-free final round of nine-under-par. It was vintage Kim: fearless, aggressive, electric. Four straight birdies down the stretch. Five in six holes. A charge that left major champions Jon Rahm and Bryson DeChambeau trailing.
By the 18th fairway, the atmosphere had tipped into chaos. More than 38,000 fans flooded behind him as he walked toward the green. After a simple tap-in sealed victory at 23 under, Kim was drenched in celebratory spray by teammates and wrapped in an emotional embrace with his wife and young daughter.
“I don’t really know what to say,” Kim said, fighting tears. “It’s overwhelming. But I’m never not going to fight for my family.”
From Disappeared Star to Winner’s Circle
Kim’s disappearance from professional golf became one of the sport’s longest-running mysteries. At his peak in the late 2000s, he was golf’s swaggering prodigy — charismatic, explosive, box office.
Then he vanished.
Injuries, personal battles, and struggles with addiction pulled him away for more than a decade. When he resurfaced on LIV Golf, the results were rocky. He even faced relegation. The fairytale return looked more like a footnote.
But Kim believed.
“I knew it was coming,” he said. “Nobody else had to believe in me but me.”
Sunday proved that faith wasn’t misplaced.
Redemption — On and Off the Course
In the past year, Kim has spoken openly about his addiction struggles and recovery. On February 20, he will mark three years sober — a milestone that makes this victory even more powerful.
“For anybody struggling right now, you can get through anything,” he said.
The win brings a $4 million payday and pushes him back into the Official World Golf Ranking conversation, potentially climbing inside the top 200.
More importantly, it restores something bigger: belief.
Anthony Kim isn’t just back.
He’s a winner again.
And in a sport that rarely hands out second acts, this one might be the most remarkable of them all.
