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

For the last 12 years, Anthony Kim has existed largely through hearsay. 

Once a shining star in the game, the American’s retreat from golf’s spotlight into complete obscurity has become one of the most fascinating sporting tales never told.

His disappearance has incredibly managed to provide more intrigue than his once exceptional talents on the fairways.

But now, in a sensational twist, Kim is now preparing for his return to professional golf. Multiple sources have told bunkered.co.uk that Kim will make his LIV Golf debut in Jeddah this week.

• Sources: Anthony Kim to make golf comeback this week

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

It looks like we are about to find out what really happened to Anthony Kim.

For full context, here is the complete timeline of events that led up to Kim’s exit from pro golf, as well as his possible return…

2006 – Turning pro

Kim was always destined for big things. The former Oklahoma graduate starred on the winning US Walker Cup team in 2005 and turned pro a year later. He finished in a tie for second on his first pro start at the Valero Texas Open.

May 2008 – First PGA Tour win

The stylish and charismatic Californian first burst into the wider public conscience with his first PGA Tour win at the Wachovia Championship, where he outplayed the field to win by five shots and rise to 16th in the world rankings.

June 2008 – Star is rising

When Kim won his second PGA Tour crown just a month after his first at the AT&T National, his stock was perhaps at his highest. He had just won Tiger Woods’ event, storming to the title with a final round 65. His swashbucking style was attracting new audiences, and therefore lucrative sponsorships. A strong finish to the season pushed him to a high of 6th in the rankings and ensured his place on the Ryder Cup team.

September 2008 – The Ryder Cup

Kim played a key role in the US victory at Valhalla. He hammered Sergio Garcia 5&4 in the Sunday singles and was a lively figure in Paul Azinger’s American camp all week. He was made for golf’s biggest stage.

April 2009 –  Masters record

He may not be a major champion, but Anthony Kim still holds a remarkable Masters record. In the 2009 tournament, Kim made 11 birdies in a single round during his seven-under 65. His highest major finish would be third at Augusta the following year.

April 2010 – Last victory

Before injuries derailed his hopes of another Ryder Cup place, Kim was flying high with victory at the Shell Houston Open. He joined a select group of players to have won three PGA Tour titles before the age of 25 in the modern era. At that stage, nobody could have predicted it would be his last.

May 2012 – Last start

Kim missed the cut in the 2011 PGA Championship, the last major he would play. Following a series of withdrawals early in 2012 due to injury problems, his last competitive start came aged 26 at the Wells Fargo Championship. He retired after just one round at Quail Hollow and claimed he was taking five months off due to tendinitis in his left arm.

June 2012 –  Surgery

Kim underwent surgery after tearing the Achilles tendon injury in his left leg following his Wells Fargo withdrawal. It was predicted he would be out of action for almost a year. But he has not played since and it has been reported consistently that he instead decided to cash in on a lucrative insurance policy to effectively retire at the age of 26.

April 2014 – No longer playing

After making no indication he would ever return and vanishing from the game completely, we had the first concrete report on what Kim had been up to. The Golf Channel reported that Kim’s coach agent Clarke Jones noted that the player wasn’t even playing golf recreationally anymore.

September 2015 – The interview

In his first interview since disappearing from the PGA Tour, Kim told Doug Ferguson of the Associated Press that he misses competing – “a little bit.”

“Golf is a fond memory of mine,” he said. “I’ve been watching more and more. I miss the competition a little bit. Watching these young guys like Jordan Spieth is bringing me back to watch.” There was no indication of a return, though.

“I’m going to step away from the game for a little while and get my body pieced together,” he said. “I’ve got so much ground to make up from injuries — rotator cuff, labrum, spinal fusion, hand injury. I’ve had six or seven surgeries in the last three-and-a-half years.”

September 2016 – A rare appearance 

While there was so much uncertainty about Kim in 2016, what did seem apparent was that he done with professional golf. But there was at least a public appearance to get people chatting again as he turned up to a charity golf event in Dallas.

April 2019 – The fan encounter

Kim’s ability to fade into the unknown as such a high-profile athlete meant that any public sighting of the golfer generated huge interest. During an encounter with an eagle-eyed fan seven years on from his last PGA Tour round, Kim reportedly called his game “non-existent”.

January 2021 – The false alarm

A new year’s message that sent golf social media into a frenzy. Kim’s longtime coach Adam Schriber posted a picture with Kim in Dallas with the caption, “2021 is going to be special.” Suffice to say that the rumour mill went into overdrive, but it turned out to be a false alarm in relation to any hope of a comeback.

October 2022 – LIV Golf discussions

Court documents released two years ago during LIV Golf’s legal battle with the PGA Tour showed that Kim was Kim was one of 179 individuals or organisations to have held discussions relating to the Saudi-funded circuit since September 2019.

January 2023  – Caddie admission

As the legend continued to grow over Kim’s recluse, his former caddie Eric Larson stunningly revealed that he had recently spoken to the Californian on the phone, floating the prospect of a comeback on the LIV tour.

“He goes, ‘I don’t know. I really don’t know.’ ” Larson said. “I said, ‘Come on, man, get the old clubs out. Go out there and have some fun.’ And he starts laughing at me. He goes, ‘That’s what everybody wants me to do!’” 

March 2024 – The return?

It looks like Kim will make his debut on the LIV Golf circuit in the league’s third event of the season in Jeddah. All the questions surrounding the enigmatic American are about to be answered…

Ben Parsons joined bunkered as a Content Producer in 2023 and is the man to come to for all of the latest news, across both the professional and amateur games. Formerly of The Mirror and Press Association, he is a member at Halifax Golf Club and is a long-suffering fan of both Manchester United and the Wales rugby team.