Report: Kim planning return to pro golf after 12-year absence
Published
Anthony Kim is plotting a return to professional golf.
Golf Magazine's Dylan Dethier reports the 38-year-old Los Angeles native is in talks with both the PGA Tour and LIV Golf about coming back to the game after a 12-year absence.
A product of Oklahoma, Kim turned pro in 2006. By 2008, Kim won his first event and was the No. 6-ranked golfer in the world. He helped the United States win the 2008 Ryder Cup. In 2009, Kim set the record for most birdies in a round at Augusta with 11 in the second round of The Masters.
A four-time Tour winner, Kim was just the fifth player in 30 years to claim at least three victories before the age of 25, following in the footsteps of Adam Scott, Sergio Garcia, Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson.
Kim's last PGA event was at the 2012 Wells Fargo Championship that was won by Rickie Fowler. Kim withdrew from the event early.
After undergoing surgery to repair an Achilles tear in the summer of 2012, Kim never returned to golf and has been famously reclusive in the years since.
Dethier notes that a sticking point in negotiations is a $10-million injury insurance policy from the PGA and whether or not it would be voided upon Kim's potential return.
Dethier reports that a one-year, $10 million offer from LIV has been floated and there has been talk of him joining new signing Jon Rahm's team.
Theoretically, Kim could resume playing on the PGA Tour immediately thanks to previous champion status for some events and sponsor exemptions for larger ones.
A PGA Tour spokesperson declined comment for Dethier's story.