In an in-depth interview with LIV Golf analyst David Feherty, Anthony Kim talks about his long break from the sport for the first time since returning to the professional golf stage. ‘The Journey Back’ provides intimate insights into Kim’s life outside the sport and his reasons for returning.
LIV Golf: “I really didn’t leave the house” – Anthony Kim’s long break
Anthony Kim: Golf is important to me and not important to me at the same time. I’ve had some very dark moments, I’ve had some very low moments, I’ve felt very alone, even when there’s many people around. I needed to get my mind on straight and figure out what my purpose was on this planet.
David Feherty: You injured your achilles in June of 2012. You did a disappearing act like David Copperfield, where did you go?
Kim: Yeah, I really didn’t leave the house. I watched a lot of reality TV and ate a lot of food and just really hung out with my animals and occasionally had a good time.
Feherty: You played golf, you got hurt, you disappeared. It is an intriguing problem that you had, you know, with the insurance settlement, maybe you’re not able to talk about that at this point, but what did you do when it became apparent that it wasn’t a good idea for you to play golf.
Kim: Well, I’m not at liberty to talk about the details of the settlement, what happened regarding that. I know public opinion is, that I took the money and ran and decided I was gonna just kind of hang out, but that wasn’t the case at all. I’ve had multiple surgeries in a few years and my body is still not what it used to be.
Feherty: All on the achilles?
Kim: Uh, no. I’ve had multiple shoulder surgeries, hand surgery, spinal fusion. I’ve had a lot of injuries and a lot of surgeries.
Feherty: Wow, you’re like Frankengolfer.
Kim: I think I’m actually hitting the ball further now than when I left the game. So maybe some of this metal was helping.
Anthony Kim about his return at LIV Golf and his expectations
Feherty: So, you ended up with LIV. Did you have any interest in the PGA Tour at all?
Kim: I would be lying if I said I didn’t have any interest. They did reach out about the possibility of me playing on the PGA Tour again. I weighed up both options. Through all these experiences I’ve learned that as much as you try to make good decisions in your life, you still need to remain true to who you are. And that’s something that actually is helping me in my golf game, because I took some risks that were unnecessary before and now I’m a little more calculated but I’m gonna keep taking risks as I go along.
Feherty: What are your expectations, you know for this year? Let’s start with this season.
Kim: That’s a tough question, because obviously I played at a high level before, but at the same time I understand that I’ve taken twelve years away from the game and obviously there’s a lot of opinions whether I played a lot of golf or not and the honest answer is ‘No i have not’. So my expectations are to just take it day-by-day, work hard and see where that gets me.
My wife is the reason I started playing golf again, she wanted to learn the game. Fortunately for me and her she really stuck with it and wanted to get better and so I started spending a little bit more time on the golf course and that got me interested in playing again.
Feherty: The game has changed in twelve years. There’s half a generation of players with whom you’re not really familiar. Did you watch golf in that time off?
Kim: I have an interesting relationship with golf. I don’t think I ever loved it. What’s very weird to me right now is that I’m falling in love with the game. That’s such a weird spot for me, because golf was filled with pressure, golf was filled with lots of different emotions for me, because my family had to go through a lot to give me this opportunity to play golf. So with that added pressure I was willing to risk a lot more, that was my nature. I was aggressive on the golf course, so I was aggressive off the golf course and that let to my demise.
Anthony Kim: “I have a responsibility of taking care of my family”
Feherty: How much did the injuries and the aftermath of the injuries contribute to where you went, you know, that dark place?
Kim: It definitely didn’t help. It gave me a lot of time to think about what I was doing with my life. Sure, I was making some money, I was playing golf, travelling the world, but I had no self-worth. I became a father and I didn’t really feel that and now I have a responsibility of taking care of my family and being the best role model for my daughter as I can be. That gives me purpose every morning and I didn’t really have that before.
Feherty: At what point did you decide that you needed to turn it around? How long ago?
Kim: I knew I needed help for a long time. I knew I had battles mentally that I’ve never talked about with anybody. Through lots of conversations with very important people in my life I got help and I started turning my life around about a year-and-a-half ago.
Feherty: You’ve got a daughter now, Bella. Does she kind of inspire you to do something that maybe her dad will be remembered for?
Kim: She’s my everything. Obviously my relationship with my wife is unbelievable and I can’t thank her enough and owe so much to her but a lot of the inspiration comes from Bella. I feel so blessed to have this opportunity to have a dad. I wasn’t expecting to be able to have a child.
Feherty: Why did you think that?
Kim: I lost faith in a lot of thinks, in myself on top of that. The doctors said that I wouldn’t be able to have a child, because of all the things my body has been through and it was very disappointing. That made me feel even smaller that I had felt originally. But this blessing happened.
Kim hints at problems with addictions and hopes he “can inspire somebody”
Fehery: Were there no good times?
Kim: That’s a tough question, because I thought I was having a great time. And I don’t remember any of those times. I literally don’t remember any of those times, because you figure with 23 years old you are supposed to be doing these things and it’s okay. But with the personality I have, which is an addictive personality, it can get out of hand. The mind is a very tricky, scary place.
Feherty: There’s a documentary being made about your life. What’s the main story line?
Kim: There’s a lot of layers to it. It’s been on my mind for a long time. I feel like I have an amazing platform and opportunity, especially with LIV, to be able to share my story and I think it will benefit a lot of people. I’ve had some very low points in my life, I experienced some pretty traumatic things and I hope that I can inspire somebody to dig out of a hole, that maybe they don’t see the light at the end of the tunnel and ultimately they find some strength in the people around them and self-belief, so that they can get out of it.
“I can absolutely do it at that level again” – Kim excited for LIV Golf
Feherty: [Your daughter] is getting to see her dad do what he did best. Can you do it at that level again?
Kim: I believe I can absolutely do it at that level again. I’m prepared more than ever for success. I don’t think in my first career I was, because I didn’t know what to expect. It was my mistakes that are the reason that I fell down into this deep hole. Having better people around this time definitely helps.
Feherty: The team concept at LIV. I was sceptical about it at first. How do you feel about it? Would you like to be a captain or be on a team?
Kim: I mean, obviously everyone wants to be a captain. You have to have that attitude if you’re going to make it in professional sports, but the goal is to make a team, be on a team and ultimately be a team captain at some point. But I know the results have not been great, but I’m very confident in my abilities and I think working on the right things I’ll be able to get there.
Feherty: How about Majors, do you think you’ve got one in you?
Kim: I mean, if they are handing them out I’m willing to accept them (laughs).
