Was Anthony Kim’s return to golf in 2024 a success?

The past 12 months had it all — crazy winning streaks, new major champs, a major-week arrest (!) and more. With 2025 on the horizon, our writers are looking back at the most memorable moments from 2024.

No. 15 — Charley Hull goes viral | No. 14 — LIV, LPGA CEOs say goodbye | No. 13— Solheim Cup parking fiasco | No. 12 — Phoenix Open chaos | No. 11 — Lydia Ko’s Hall of Fame resurgence | No. 10 — PGA Tour/Saudi PIF merger stalemate | No. 9 — Keegan Bradley named Ryder Cup captain | No. 8 — Lexi Thompson stepped away | No. 7 — Xander Schauffele’s major breakthrough

Biggest golf moments of 2024 No. 6: Anthony Kim’s return 

Bomb down the fairway. 

Followed by a topped iron.

And a bogey six.

Talk about symbolism. Anthony Kim’s very first hole of the year, after 12 years of zero holes, ended up looking a lot like the collection of all his 2025 holes. There was some good. There was some ugly. There was some stick-to-itiveness. 

But what did you expect? 

The AK of old, the owner of three PGA Tour wins, a Ryder Cup victory and an epic 11-birdie round at Augusta? Or an older AK? We appreciate how you may have thought you’d get the former, because who doesn’t want to believe we are forever young? That AK, though, underwent surgery on his left Achilles tendon in June of 2012 — then publicly vanished (a feat in and of itself). You’d see some photos. You’d hear some whispers. According to reports, he’d accepted an insurance-policy payment that paid him at least $10 million, and maybe much more, but prevented him from playing tournament golf — though you thought he’d return at some point. But one year away turned into five. Five years turned into 10. Coming back at this point seemed doubtful, though if he did, it felt like it’d be flashier than one of his old ‘AK’ belt buckles. Think of the hype around other such returns. 

A case of absence making the heart grow fonder? Undoubtedly. Nevertheless, when he finally did return, on March 1 with LIV Golf, the vibe eventually felt more like an iron to the middle of the green. It was subdued. There was more curiosity than anything. The details of what led to his disappearance, along with insight into what he did or didn’t do while he was gone, were largely murky during his comeback’s beginning — and remain that way. To this end, GOLF’s Alan Bastable summed things up well when he wrote this:

If you’re a Kim diehard or merely have just been intrigued by the mysterious circumstances surrounding his disappearance, you might have long fantasized about this day and maybe even envisioned how an AK reemergence might look and feel: a buzzy private-jet arrival on a local airstrip, entourage in tow; Kim bursting into a packed-house press conference like the Kool-Aid Man through a brick wall; rapt reporters absorbing riveting details from our protagonist about how he has spent the better part of his 30s. Yes, we’re exaggerating here, but for a guy who lived large, AK’s reintroduction has been surprisingly low key — and, in all its crypticness, a bit weird, too.

The rest of the year was mostly flat, too. In his first tournament back, he shot 76, 76 and 74 to finish last by 11 shots. His highest showing in 11 tournaments was 36th out of 54, which is the standard size of LIV’s fields. These bottom-line results, against major winners such as Bryson DeChambeau, Jon Rahm and Brooks Koepka, were largely below average. 

So was Anthony Kim’s return to golf a success then?

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By scores alone, no. But there were glimmers. The 36th-place finish came in his penultimate event. Earlier this month, he made the cut in an Asian Tour event. Statistically, Kim was 14th among LiV players in putting average and 29th in driving average. Notably, Hank Haney, Tiger Woods’ one-time swing coach, tweeted last month videos of Kim’s swing and said that it looked “great.” 

As for Kim? He sounds content. Should you visit his social media feeds, most posts feature his young daughter, Bella, and wife Emily. He’ll also likely play more next year.  

“I got a lot of my self-worth from what I shot that day, and I think that a lot of athletes, a lot of — whatever profession you’re in, how you do that day at work determines how you feel about yourself,” Kim said earlier this year. 

“At this point in my life, I’m able to separate those two, which I feel like is a super power right now. I know that whether I make a 15 or whether I make a 3, my daughter is still going to want to eat strawberry ice cream and I’m going to do that with her. That’s the most fun part of my day. Golf, you know, through these experiences with my family, every experience I get to have, I appreciate that more, and it makes golf a lot more simple.”