Kim's mystique was built on memories, now his highlight is a win

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Anthony Kim shared this much with Tiger Woods: The longer they stayed away, the more the legend grew. The difference was the amount of highlights to fill the void and what kept them away. Kim's victory in LIV Golf Adelaide, before the largest crowd on the LIV circuit and in the early morning hours in most parts of America, was nothing short of astonishing because of how long he had been away — 12 years in the prime of his career — and his struggles with drug and alcohol addiction that made him thankful to even be alive, much less playing golf. "Who I am today is a completely different person," Kim said. "With God, my family, my sobriety being the key things to my life, I can go as far as I want." What stands out about this return is the time lapse. Has there been another athlete from any other sport who disappeared for so long and came back to win? Perhaps even more remarkable is that he was in the final group, five shots behind Jon Rahm and Bryson DeChambeau, and didn't miss a shot on his way to a 63. Kim's mantra is to get 1% better each day. That's what it took to get him back. The question going forward is whether that percentage can increase given the shot of confidence that comes from winning. The talent was never in question. Woods was playing a practice round for the 2007 PGA Championship at Southern Hills when, during a wait on the sixth tee, he walked over to the side of the tee box and asked unprompted, "What do you think of Anthony Kim?" Woods never missed anything going on in golf. A year later, Kim won by five shots at Quail Hollow and closed with a 65 to win at Congressional in the AT&T National. Adding to the aura — as if the bling and belt buckles and the strut weren't enough — was his takedown of Sergio Garcia in the 2008 Ryder Cup. They both hit shots into 2 feet on the first hole at Valhalla. "Good-good?" Garcia said to Kim, suggesting they concede the putts, a common practice. "Let's putt them," Kim replied without looking at him. Kim was so wired that day that he walked off to the 15th tee after winning another hole only to see the Spaniard waiting to shake his hand on the 14th green. Kim didn't realize the match was over. A year later at the Presidents Cup, reports surfaced that Kim was out partying in the streets of San Francisco until dawn before the final round. Robert Allenby shared these tales, a curious decision because this was after Kim needed only 15 holes to beat him in Sunday singles. And before long, Kim was gone. A thumb injury kept him off the 2010 Ryder Cup team. There was pain in his left elbow, his wrist. There were missed cuts and WDs. His game was so bad that Kim said his mother told him a caddie at a golf club in Los Angeles was making twice as much as Kim's earnings in 2012. And then he was out of public view for more than a decade. Any time there was a rumored AK sighting came memories of his talent and his aura. He became legend. He had a mystique, even though Kim won only three times and never seriously contended in a major. He set a Masters record with 11 birdies in one round. Steve Pate shares the Masters record with seven birdies in a row. No one ever talks about Pate. Woods was never the same after the first of four back surgeries that led to his lower back being fused. He was gone for chunks of time, most notably playing only once on the PGA Tour and once on the European Tour — a total of three rounds — in 2016 and 2017. All that remained were memories and highlights, plentiful and powerful. And then Woods brought that legend to life when he contended at Carnoustie in 2018, won at East Lake and then came full circle when he won the 2019 Masters, just two years after he could barely make it up the stairs to the Augusta National clubhouse. That's the lasting memory now that Woods hardly plays because of injuries from his 2021 car crash. The question is whether he plays the PGA Tour Champions now that he's 50. Kim, for all the years he was gone, is still only 40. That's not a peak age even in golf, though Justin Rose (45) has shown it can be done. Kim has plenty of years ahead, wherever that takes him. He unwittingly got help from LIV, which gave him a spot in the Saudi-funded league in 2024. LIV added an additional spot in its qualifying tournament (Kim finished third). It also changed from 54 holes to 72 holes this year. If not for that change, there would not have been an extra round for that masterful performance from Kim on Sunday in Australia. And with LIV getting world ranking points — one reason the league added the qualifying spot and 72-hole tournaments — Kim is now just outside the top 200 in the world. It's too soon to speculate whether the majors are in view. Another win still wouldn't get him inside the top 100. LIV Golf has three tournaments (Hong Kong, Singapore, South Africa) before the Masters. The PGA Championship seems like a possibility if he keeps contending, and the two Opens offer spots through LIV's points list. This was cause for celebration, appreciation and amazement. Best of all, he has a new highlight to remind golf fans why he got so much attention in the first place. ___ AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf