LIV Golf Adelaide: Anthony Kim Makes Beautiful Comeback to Get First Win in 16 Years

Anthony Kim completed one of the most inspirational – and improbable – comebacks that professional golf has ever seen, outdueling Jon Rahm and Bryson DeChambeau to win the individual title at LIV Golf Adelaide on Sunday. 

After 12.5 years away from competitive play due to injuries and personal challenges, Kim returned in 2024 to join LIV Golf. He struggled early while trying to shed the rust and recapture the magic during his early years as a pro. 

Thanks to his mantra of “1% better every day” determination, he’s shown dramatic improvement the last few months – and this week at The Grange, he completed the journey, proving that anything is possible. Not only did Kim capture his first win of any kind in nearly 16 years, he did so while in the final group against two of the best players in the world who simply could not keep up with his iron play and hot putter.

“I’m very overwhelmed with this feeling right now,” said Kim, who began the week working out visa issues to get into Australia, then officially signed with 4Aces GC just before the tournament started. “But my plan is to keep getting better and start winning some more trophies.” 

While Kim’s story is compelling, the hometown win by Ripper GC for the team title was equally as  celebrated by the Adelaide fans, as Captain Cameron Smith and club rallied past Rahm’s Legion XIII team for a two-shot win, their second at home in three years. Marc Leishman led the way for Ripper, shooting a 7-under 65. Lucas Herbert and Elvis Smylie shot matching 3-under 69s while Smith shot a 2-under 70.

“Unreal. So good,” said Smith, whose team also won last week’s season opener in Riyadh, becoming the first LIV Golf team to claim the first two tournaments of a season. “We had a training camp before the season, and this was our goal, to win this event, and we did it. It’s pretty special when you tick off a goal this early in the season.” 

Special was certainly how Kim performed on Sunday, shooting a 9-under 63 to finish at 23 under while overcoming a five-shot deficit to Rahm and DeChambeau. 

DeChambeau suffered two early bogeys, while Rahm was holding on with pars, but it was Kim who eventually got the hot hand. He rattled off birdies on Nos. 4, 5, 7, and 9, shrinking the deficit to just one as the trio of stars made the turn. Rahm made the turn at even par for the day, while DeChambeau limped to a 4-over front nine. 

After both Kim and Rahm made pars on 10 and 11, the 40-year-old Kim stepped up to the tee at The Watering Hole – the par-3 12th at The Grange – where the crowd was waiting to erupt. He delivered a solid tee shot to just inside 17 feet, giving himself a good look at birdie amid the chaos of cheers and passionate golf fans.

Sensing the moment, he rolled the putt dead center into the cup, tying Rahm for the lead. The crowd absolutely roared, and Kim unleashed a massive fist pump, one loaded with years of pent-up emotion, frustration, and fire. More fist pumps would follow as Kim made birdies on holes 13, 14, 15 and 17 to seize control of the tournament. 

“I’m too old to be reacting like that because I think I pulled something in my hip,” Kim joked. “But I will say that that was all the lows that I went through in my life that I got to dig out of. Every putt that went in, I felt the struggle, and I was overcoming it. It was therapeutic out there to fight through it and come out on top.” 

DeChambeau couldn’t recover from his shaky front nine and stumbled to a 2-over 74, fading out of contention entirely. Rahm simply could not match Kim’s magic, eventually claiming solo second for the second consecutive week. 

“In a weird way, as a competitor, I probably shouldn’t say this, but that was a joy to watch,” Rahm said of Kim. “To see that image on 18 of him hugging his wife and daughter, any man with a soul is going to have a soft spot for that. I was almost tearing up.” 

He wasn’t the only one, as Kim succeeded in a way few thought possible when he decided to return to golf. 

“I was able to produce some good golf today. I knew it was coming,” Kim said. “Nobody else has to believe in me but me, and for anybody that’s struggling, you can get through anything.”

TOP OF THE LEADERBOARDS

Individual Top 10 

1 (-23) – Anthony Kim, 4Aces (67-67-68-63) 

2 (-20) – Jon Rahm, Legion XIII (68-63-66-71) 

T3 (-17) – Bryson DeChambeau, Crushers (66-67-64-74); Tyrrell Hatton, Legion XIII (69-69-66-67); Peter Uihlein, RangeGoats (69-67-67-68) 

T6 (-16) – Lucas Herbert, Ripper (71-65-67-69); Dean Burmester, Southern Guards (69-71-67-65) 

T8 (-15) – Cameron Smith, Ripper (72-67-64-70); Sebastian Munoz, Torque (69-67-69-68); Branden Grace, Southern Guards (71-64-69-69); Marc Leishman, Ripper (66-72-70-65)

Team Top 3 

1 (-55) – Ripper GC (Leishman 65, Herbert 69, Rahm 69, Smith 70; Rd. 4 score: -15) 

2(-53) – Legion XIII (Hatton 67, Surratt 69, Rahm 71, McKibbin 73; Rd. 4 score: -8) 

3 (-52) – 4Aces GC (Kim 63, Johnson 68, Pieters 69, Detry 74; Rd. 4 score: -14) 

This piece is courtesy of Mike McAllister in partnership with LIV Golf.