AK hungry for more success after his emotional comeback win

HONG KONG – Yes, Anthony Kim has watched highlights of his victory two weeks ago at LIV Golf Adelaide, his first win since returning to professional golf after a 12-1/2 year absence. 

In fact, he’s watched the video clips quite a few times. Maybe too many. 

“Enough times where I’m not going to watch it anymore,” he joked Tuesday while preparing for this week’s HSBC LIV Golf Hong Kong, his first start since setting the golf world on fire with his emotional come-from-behind win in Australia when he overtook 54-hole co-leaders Jon Rahm and Bryson DeChambeau. 

RELATED: Where to watch LIV Golf Hong Kong 

That victory, of course, wasn’t simply about rallying from five strokes down, but more about rallying from the depths of personal despair, with addictions that threatened to not just ruin his life but end it. It was also about rallying from a golf game that just over two years ago was, in his words, “flat-out terrible” when he came out of retirement to join LIV Golf. 

It’s why his story has resonated so deeply with fans across not just the golfing landscape, but the sports world in general – and even beyond. He struck a chord, one of hope, one in which refusing to give up and a determination to get better can lead to positive results, no matter how bleak the situation.

“It wasn't about golf,” Kim said. “It was about setting goals, being resilient and overcoming obstacles in your life. To my own fault, I made a lot of bad decisions. But the only way I can overcome that is by just dealing with it and hitting it head on. 

“It's been amazing, the love and support I've gotten. I'm motivated by negativity, so it's been very weird. But I feel like a lot of people saw their own families, their own struggles in me, and I think that's why it got kind of the reception that it did.” 

For some, it also seemed to come out of nowhere – although his play in recent months certainly indicated he was making significant strides. In late November, he had his first top-10 finish since his return, a T5 at the PIF Saudi International. In early January, playing LIV Golf Promotions to earn a spot back in the league after being relegated, he made a clutch birdie putt just to advance to the 36-hole finale, then grabbed the third and final spot available. 

After playing as a Wild Card in the season-opener in Riyadh, Kim was signed by 4Aces GC, the announcement made just prior to the opening round. Four days later, he put the finishing touches on a final-round bogey-free 9-under 63 that Rahm called “one of the best rounds of golf I’ve ever seen anybody play.” His new teammates then helped him celebrate the victory.

“I know all the hard work he's put in,” said his captain, Dustin Johnson . “I know all the things he's been through. To see him come out on the other side of it, especially, too, playing in the last group with Bryson and Jon, and to go out and play that round of golf was really special, and to get it done on Sunday with those guys and finish it off with a win was – maybe other than me and maybe him and the guys on our team that believed in him, I don't think anyone else did. … 

“It was a really special moment. I think it was great for the game of golf. It was great for LIV. Obviously, it was great for our team, the Aces, and most importantly, it was great for him and his family.” 

Kim’s family is the critical component of his comeback. It’s why his new way of celebrating victories involved a family vacation in Thailand that also included lengthy range sessions to reinforce his desire to get one percent better each day.  He shudders to think how the old AK would’ve celebrated.

Without his wife Emily, Kim admitted “there’s zero chance I’d playing golf. I give her so much credit for telling me, this is what you’re good at and you can make a difference in other people’s lives if you do succeed.” 

Meanwhile, their daughter Bella is his inspiration. She ran onto the 18th green in Adelaide to hug her father; Kim called it “one of the most special moments of my life.” 

He wants more of those. Having now tasted success in sobriety, the fire burns brighter than before. He wants more family hugs after the winning putt drops. 

“I’m a recovering addict, but now I think I’m addicted to making that happen again,” Kim said. “There’s nothing that’s going to stop me from working to get to that point.”