Leave it to the AP’s Doug Ferguson to hunt down one of the missing in action from the PGA Tour. And no, it’s not Tiger Woods.
Anthony Kim was one of the most talented young players on tour when he won three tournaments in three years from 2008 to 2010.
Kim showed his mettle during the 2008 Ryder Cup when Capt. Azinger sent him out first in Sunday Singles and he manhandled a more celebrated Sergio Garcia in a 5 & 4 butt whipping.
Much like Jordan Spieth and Rory McIlroy, Kim was touted as one of the next generation to take over the PGA Tour from Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson.
Then in 2012 Kim disappeared. Injuries and poor play sapped his desire to play on tour and he has been MIA since.
According to Ferguson’s piece he’s collecting on an insurance policy he had taken out in case of injury but was anxious to dispel rumors of his life after golf that weren’t painting the greatest of pictures.
He earned just over $12 million in five full seasons on the PGA Tour and says he saved up more money than people realize. The stories and photos on social media over the years painted a wild side to Kim. He doesn’t deny he lived different than most golfers, nor will be apologize.
”If you don’t like the way I live, change the channel. You’re the one who tuned in here,” Kim said. ”A lot of the golf public may not appreciate the way I live, which is by my own rules. But I give everyone respect. I’m not rude to anyone. And I treat everyone the same.”
He said he is getting monthly payments from an insurance policy he took out five years ago in case he was injured. But he denied speculation in a magazine story last fall that the policy was a factor that is keeping him from returning to the PGA Tour.
”I paid well into the mid-six figures for the policy,” he said. ”They wouldn’t have paid me every month had I not been to the doctors, showing them all my X-rays, doing all the treatment, the acupuncture, twice a day for physical therapy.”
Kim wouldn’t rule out a comeback to the game that he played so well just a few years ago and he is only thirty.
”Here’s what I’m telling you today,” he said. ”I’m going to step away from the game for a little while and get my body pieced together. Instead of going from an Achilles injury to try to go 180 mph and not fixing the problem … 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.”
Asked if it was possible that he played his last round on the PGA Tour at age 26, Kim paused, chuckled and said, ”Anything is possible. Isn’t that what the slogan says?”
Yes, anything is possible and seeing Kim back in the course would certainly be a welcome sight.
Click here for Ferguson’s article.
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