Walker Cup opponent recalls ‘rogue’ Anthony Kim

The legend of Anthony Kim was born in 1985, but it was made two decades later.

Just three weeks after the American’s 20th birthday, ten of Great Britain and Ireland’s most promising amateurs headed for Wheaton, Illinois.

There they would come face to face with ten of the United States’ finest, and a confident, belt buckle-wearing Kim was one of them.

In 2005, Kim was little more than that. Ultra-talented and exuding flair, yes, but little more than that.

Loyd Saltman was primed for his first taste of the Walker Cup, too, and on the morning of August 14, the Scot learned all about one of golf’s greatest enigmas.

“I had certainly heard of a few of the names before I went there, and he was one of them, people saying he was a bit of a rogue character,” Saltman told bunkered.

“When I joined up with the Walker Cup team, I didn’t really know who any of them were, but very quickly we all got to know who Anthony Kim was.”

The then 19-year-old from Edinburgh was one of the most well-regarded amateurs in the sport. He had already won prestigious prizes and finished in a tie for 15th place in the 2005 Open Championship St. Andrews.

Fast forward 18 years, and Kim’s Walker Cup partner Brian Harman has hoisted the Claret Jug.

While Harman has achieved more, it’s Kim’s name that piques more interest.

Teaming up with Saltman that day was another young Scot, Richie Ramsay, and playing well wasn’t enough.

“We played well that day and still lost, it was pretty impressive. Anthony was good, really good, just super confident in his own belief.

“You play against some people who frustrate you, whereas Anthony had a lot of flair and confidence. He was hitting shots and always looked right up for it.”

• McEwan: Yo, PGA Tour? Don’t forget about your pals in Europe

Harman went one better, recently arguing the free-swinging Kim is one of the top three most talented golfers ever, and Saltman agrees.

“Yeah, I would say so. I only played with him as an amateur, but he went on pretty quickly and became a superstar.

“I just knew he was going to be right up there. He wasn’t a guy who was statistically orientated or working heavily on his golf swing, he was a guy who liked playing golf, loved to compete and wanted to play against the best.”

Kim halved his first foursomes match with Harman, playing against Rhys Davies and Nigel Edwards before swatting aside Gary Lockerbie 6&5.

By this point, Saltman witnessed the hype around Kim growing significantly, leading to a surprise defeat at the hands of England’s Gary Wolstenholme.

The result ultimately didn’t matter, as the US lifted the cup by a point, but Kim’s attitude was reflected just as well off the course, as it was on it.

Before tasting defeat, he had spent the previous night at the bar.

“I remember my parents being in the hotel, and they said to me in the morning that Anthony Kim had been sitting at the bar for a few hours after with one of his pals,” Saltman said.

“We were all up in our rooms trying to do the right thing and he was totally relaxed about the whole situation.

“He knew he was good and could chill at the bar.”

One year later, Kim was a professional golfer. But three PGA Tour wins, a Ryder Cup win and a Presidents Cup win later, he was nowhere to be seen.

The mystery of Anthony Kim rumbles on, but as he played in the U.S. Open, Saltman was back for another crack at the Walker Cup.

In 2007, he teed it up alongside Rory McIlroy and was able to realise how good Kim truly was.

“Sometimes you get players who have gone on to do really well, and you think it’s a little surprising they did as well, but Anthony was a bit like a Rory [McIlroy] scenario,” he added.

“I played with him in the ‘07 Walker Cup, and they were similar in the sense you thought ‘there is a couple of special players’.

John Turnbull A graduate of the University of Stirling, John joined the bunkered team in 2023 as a Content Producer, with a responsibility for covering all breaking news, tour news, grassroots content and much more besides. A keen golfer, he plays the majority of his golf at Falkirk Golf Club. Top of his 'bucket list' is a round of Pebble Beach... ideally in the company of Gareth Bale.