Anthony Kim Secures First Win Since 2010 At LIV Golf Adelaide
Anthony Kim didn’t just show up to play golf in Australia. He didn’t just make the cut. He torched The Grange Golf Club with a final-round 63 to stare down Jon Rahm and Bryson DeChambeau and blink last.
For nearly 16 years, Kim was the sports world’s version of D.B. Cooper. He had the talent, the swagger, and the Ryder Cup accolades, and then… poof. Gone. Swallowed up by injuries, addiction struggles, and a silence so loud it deafened the golf world. But on Sunday in Adelaide, the silence broke. And it sounded a lot like thousands of Aussies screaming their lungs out while dousing a 40-year-old man in cheap beer and energy drinks.
A Sunday Charge For the History Books
Let’s set the scene. Kim started the final round five shots back. In professional golf, starting five shots behind Jon Rahm usually means you’re playing for second place. Rahm doesn’t usually fold.
But Kim wasn’t interested in the math. He was interested in redemption. He turned on the jets on the back nine, rolling in four straight birdies from the 12th to the 15th. We aren’t talking tap-ins, either. He was draining 17-footers with the kind of confident stroke that made him a cult hero back in 2008. By the time he walked up the 18th fairway, the “Watering Hole” crowd was in a frenzy, and Kim was walking with confidence.
He finished at 23-under par. Rahm? He couldn’t keep pace, shooting a 71 to finish three back. DeChambeau imploded early with four bogeys on the front nine. The giants fell, and the ghost stood tall.
The Golf World Reacts
The significance of this win can’t be overstated. Whatever your opinion on LIV Golf, you can’t fake the emotion we saw on the 18th green. This wasn’t about the money or the politics. This was a guy who, by his own admission, was told by doctors he didn’t have much time left a few years ago.
“I’m never not going to fight for my family,” Kim said following the win. “Nobody else has to believe in me but me.” It is a sentiment that resonates everywhere.
The Long Road Back From the Wilderness
We need to talk about the 12-year gap. That’s an eternity in sports. In 2012, the iPhone 4 was still in use. When Kim returned to LIV as a wildcard in 2024, it was rough. He looked rusty. He looked like a guy who hadn’t played competitive golf in a decade, because he hadn’t. He got relegated. He had to go to the Promotions event to earn his spot back for this season.
Most guys would have packed it in. They would have taken the appearance fee and gone back to the couch. But Kim’s performance in Adelaide proved he wasn’t just here for a nostalgia tour. He re-earned his card, joined Dustin Johnson’s 4Aces, and finally, after 5,800+ days, hoisted a trophy.
The Aussies Get a Show
We’d be remiss if we didn’t mention the setting. Adelaide has quickly become the rowdiest stop on the tour, and the home crowd got a double feature. While Kim was completing his miracle, the all-Australian Ripper GC took home the team title.
Smith, Lucas Herbert, Marc Leishman, and Elvis Smylie gave the locals exactly what they wanted, finishing at 55-under to beat Rahm’s Legion XIII. It was a party on the podium, but the headline belongs to the American. Kim is back. Not “back” as a curiosity or a sideshow. He’s a winner again. And in a sport that loves a second act, this might just be the best one we’ve ever seen.
