Anthony Kim: 5 burning questions that need answers

It now appears more likely than not that Anthony Kim will make a return to golf in 2024 – and potentially as early as next month – after 12 years in the wilderness.

The 38-year-old Texan hasn’t been seen, in a competitive sense, since he withdrew from the 2012 Wells Fargo Championship after opening with a two-over 74.

His subsequent absence has served only to make the hearts of golf fans remember him more fondly, his ‘legend’ overtaking his body of work somewhere along the way.

Suffice to say, his return was unanticipated even just a few days ago, a prospect as remote as the middle of the Tibeten plateau and as probable as Aldershot Town winning the Champions League.

Nonetheless, we are where we are. And yes, we’ve got questions…

1.

Why did he walk away?

That’s the ten million dollar question, isn’t it? The received wisdom is that he accepted an eight-figure pay-out from an insurance policy, a security blanket he had taken out to protect him in the event of a career-ending injury.

Kim was no stranger to the treatment table. After contending at the Masters in 2011, he sustained a thumb injury that required surgery. He then suffered from tendonitis in his wrist and, in 2012, ruptured his Achilles’ tendon. His road to recovery from the latter was particularly arduous and, playing on a medical exemption in 2012, he racked up more WDs than pay cheques.

It has been reported that the settlement he decided to cash in was contingent on him not playing on tour again. One competitive swing and would be void. So far, so straightforward.

Where the dubiety – and fascination – exists is in this never having been confirmed. After all, he would hardly have been the first professional athlete to retire prematurely through injury. So, why the veil of secrecy? Why the monastic reticence? It makes you wonder – justifiably, if erroneously – whether there’s something more to all this.

• Anthony Kim: The full timeline of golf’s biggest enigma

2.

Why has he decided to come back now?

Timing is everything. Whilst Kim’s return might well be entirely random, the likelihood is that it has been well planned out.

Let’s persist with the theory that he ‘retired’ to take an insurance pay-out. It has been suggested (on social media, mainly) that there may have been a statute of limitations on his policy. According to one high-profile insurance company we spoke to, which specialises in exactly these types of settlements, that’s almost unheard of.

“The likelihood is that if had accepted a pay-out but now wanted to return, he would have to repay the settlement in full or in part depending on the terms of his agreement,” a spokesperson for All Sport Insurance told bunkered.co.uk.

Bottom line, career-ending insurance policies are not designed to prevent people from doing what they’re good at for the rest of their days but to support them in the event they are unable to continue doing it. If, at some point in the future, they find they are able to return, then their policy isn’t designed to shackle them indefinitely… so long as they are able to come to an agreement with their insurers.

Now, if only there was an organisation in golf that had the means, the desire and the downright audacity to pay off a player’s insurance settlement and enable them to retu– oh, hello there, LIV!

Look, it’s all speculation – but it would also seem to be the most plausible solution, no?

• McEwan: Anthony Kim was never a golf great – so what gives?

3.

What has he been doing for the last 12 years?

It’s one thing to walk away from the tour. It’s another thing to retreat from public view almost completely. Sightings of Kim since 2012 have been as rare as rocking horse poo. Save for the occasional fan photo or grainy video clip, he has vanished.

So, how has he filled his days? Has he got other business interests? Is he, for example, a property magnate? Has he been taking shifts at Taco Bell? Has he just been lounging around the house? Is he, in fact, Club Pro Guy? He can’t have been doing nothing (although it’s Anthony Kim, so you wouldn’t disregard that prospect completely) so what, exactly, has he been up to?

4.

What does he look like?

When he last played on tour, Kim was a fresh-faced 26-year-old with shoulder-length black hair and a dazzling collection of diamanté belt buckles. That was 12 years ago – and 12 years is a long time.

For what it’s worth, here’s the most recent image we have of Kim, posted to Instagram in January 2021 by his long-time swing coach Adam Schriber.

Note the man-bun and sleeve of tattoos on his left arm.

Beyond what he’ll look like, it’s reasonable to wonder what he’ll wear and what clubs he’ll use. Remember, when he walked away, Kim was a Nike athlete from head to toe and through the bag. But the ‘Swoosh’ no longer makes clubs and, according to various reports, is scaling back its golf apparel interests.

Considering the eyeballs Kim’s anticipated return will inevitably generate, it stands to reason he’ll be an attractive proposition for a clothing brand; perhaps not an established one that doesn’t need to take a gamble on somebody as enigmatic as he is but more likely an up-and-comer in the space, such as Malbon.

In terms of clubs, he probably won’t find offers as easy to come by – there is a chance this comeback could be (a) short-lived and (b) awful, which few established equipment brands will want to align with – so it’s more likely that, in the interim at least, Kim will be an equipment ‘free agent’ and able to play whatever he likes.

• WITB: What clubs did Anthony Kim use – and what’s next?

5.

How does his game stack up?

Once the initial hoopla subsides, Kim will need to get on with the business of actually playing golf. He’ll find a sport that is getting younger, fitter and more tech-savvy than it was in 2012.

The data backs that up.

In 2012, the PGA Tour average for driving distance was 289.1 yards. It was almost 11 yards longer (299.9) last season. Players are hitting more greens – GIR is up from 63.98% to 71.23% – and making more birdies, now 3.72 per round versus 3.36 in 2012. Crucially, the average clubhead speed on tour is also up, from 113.02 mph in 2012 to 115.54 mph in 2023, whilst ball speeds have jumped from 167.20 mph to 172.85 mph.

Can a guy who, by all accounts, has played next to no golf, and certainly no competitive golf, return after 12 years away and somehow still mix it with the best – particularly when he was never truly great to begin with? That is, without doubt, the most compelling question of the lot.

Of course, if he does indeed join LIV (as looks most likely), he’ll have only 53 other players to contend with instead of 155 most weeks on the PGA Tour. He’ll also be playing for guaranteed prize money and will be returning less scorecards than he would on the PGA Tour. Three rounds is better for a fragile, ageing body than four, is it not?

• For more on Anthony Kim’s anticipated comeback to golf, listen to the latest episode of The bunkered Podcast, available now wherever you get your podcasts.

Michael McEwan is the Deputy Editor of bunkered and has been part of the team since 2004. In that time, he has interviewed almost every major figure within the sport, from Jack Nicklaus, to Rory McIlroy, to Donald Trump. The host of the multi award-winning bunkered Podcast and a member of Balfron Golfing Society, Michael is the author of three books and is the 2023 PPA Scotland 'Writer of the Year' and 'Columnist of the Year'. Dislikes white belts, yellow balls and iron headcovers. Likes being drawn out of the media ballot to play Augusta National.

Deputy Editor