LIV Golf Adelaide: After 16 years, Anthony Kim wins again, on one of Golf's Greatest Days
- SHANK
- Feb 15
- 6 min read
7 years ago the world was in awe when Tiger Woods claimed his fifth green jacket and fifteenth Major Championship victory after years in the wilderness and 11 years since his most recent major win. Just last April we were all a nervous wreck after Rory McIlroy defeated Justin Rose in a playoff to clinch the final leg of the Grand Slam at Augusta National, his first green jacket. 3 years ago we were all emotional after Camilo Villegas won for the first time on the PGA TOUR in 9 years, and first after the tragic death of his young daughter.
On Sunday in Adelaide we saw the completion of a comeback story the like of which has never been seen before in golf, and maybe in sport. After 12-1/2 years away from competitive play due to injuries and personal challenges, Kim returned in 2024 to join LIV Golf. He struggled early while trying to shed the rust and recapture the magic during his early years as a pro.
Thanks to his mantra of “1% better every day” determination, he’s shown dramatic improvement the last few months – and this week at The Grange, he completed the journey, proving that anything is possible. Not only did Kim capture his first win of any kind in nearly 16 years, he did so while in the final group against two of the best players in the world who simply could not keep up with his iron play and hot putter.
“I'm very overwhelmed with this feeling right now,” said Kim, who began the week working out visa issues to get into Australia, then officially signed with 4Aces GC just before the tournament started. “But my plan is to keep getting better and start winning some more trophies.”
2 years ago Greg Norman and LIV Golf took a punt, some said it was a gimmick. Well today in Adelaide, Anthony Kim showed that the punt, the gamble, was worth it, both for LIV Golf and for Anthony Kim. The way Kim performed on Sunday, shooting a 9-under 63 to finish at 23 under while overcoming a five-shot deficit to Rahm and DeChambeau, showed that he fully deserves his place as one of the stars of LIV Golf, and given the scale of the reaction around the world - a superstar of the sport.
DeChambeau suffered two early bogeys, while Rahm was holding on with pars, but it was Kim who eventually got the hot hand. He rattled off birdies on Nos. 4, 5, 7, and 9, shrinking the deficit to just one as the trio of stars made the turn. Rahm made the turn at even par for the day, while DeChambeau limped to a 4-over front nine.
After both Kim and Rahm made pars on 10 and 11, the 40-year-old Kim stepped up to the tee at The Watering Hole – the par-3 12th at The Grange – where the crowd was waiting to erupt. He delivered a solid tee shot to just inside 17 feet, giving himself a good look at birdie amid the chaos of cheers and passionate golf fans.
Sensing the moment, he rolled the putt dead center into the cup, tying Rahm for the lead. The crowd absolutely roared, and Kim unleashed a massive fist pump, one loaded with years of pent-up emotion, frustration, and fire. More fist pumps would follow as Kim made birdies on holes 13, 14, 15 and 17 to seize control of the tournament.
“I'm too old to be reacting like that because I think I pulled something in my hip,” Kim joked. “But I will say that that was all the lows that I went through in my life that I got to dig out of. Every putt that went in, I felt the struggle, and I was overcoming it. It was therapeutic out there to fight through it and come out on top.”
DeChambeau couldn't recover from his shaky front nine and stumbled to a 2-over 74, fading out of contention entirely. Rahm simply could not match Kim’s magic, eventually claiming solo second for the second consecutive week.
“In a weird way, as a competitor, I probably shouldn’t say this, but that was a joy to watch,” Rahm said of Kim. “To see that image on 18 of him hugging his wife and daughter, any man with a soul is going to have a soft spot for that. I was almost tearing up.”
He wasn’t the only one, as Kim succeed in a way few thought possible when he decided to return to golf.
“I was able to produce some good golf today. I knew it was coming,” Kim said. “Nobody else has to believe in me but me, and for anybody that's struggling, you can get through anything.”
Anthony Kim’s win will go down as a historic moment for both LIV Golf and the sport. Kim’s peers certainly recognize the significance of the achievement. Here’s what they had to say:
Cam Smith: “It's so good. If it wasn't one of us this week, to have him win here in Adelaide at our premier event is pretty cool. I'm so happy for him. He's worked hard. I actually played with Anthony his first round back in Saudi a few years ago, and it was scrappy to say the least, and I was very skeptical at the start. But what he's been able to do over the past couple of seasons and dig deep and grind out and then do what he did today is pretty special. Congrats to him. I'm so happy for him.”
Marc Leishman: “As a dad, it's pretty amazing what he's done for his daughter. I think we all as dads, you play for your family and you play for your wife and your kids and all that, and your extended family. But for him to be able to change his life through golf in that way, it shows what a good person he is and what a strong person he is, what golf can do for your life.
“I don't know, it's pretty touching, actually, how good a story this is. I hope that people realize how it's a fairy tale, it really is. Not just golf but life. You see his wife and his daughter run out on the green, and that's as good as it gets. I couldn't be happier for AK.”
Jon Rahm: “That was one of the craziest, best rounds of golf. Maybe two and three he had to make pars but after that it was absolutely flawless on a difficult golf course.”
Simultaneously the team competition captivated the Australian fans as Ripper GC battled Legion XIII all day, and claimed their second LIV Golf Adelaide title, and second in a row this season. While Kim’s story is compelling, the hometown win by Ripper GC for the team title was equally as celebrated by the Adelaide fans, as Captain Cameron Smith and club rallied past Rahm’s Legion XIII team for a two-shot win, their second at home in three years. Marc Leishman led the way for Ripper, shooting a 7-under 65. Lucas Herbert and Elvis Smylie shot matching 3-under 69s while Smith shot a 2-under 70.
“Unreal. So good,” said Smith, whose team also won last week’s season opener in Riyadh, becoming the first LIV Golf team to claim the first two tournaments of a season. “We had a training camp before the season, and this was our goal, to win this event, and we did it. It's pretty special when you tick off a goal this early in the season.”
Remarkable narrative, incredible and captivating storylines, world class action, individual and team competition, on the global stage, all condensed into a match day experience unlike anything Golf has ever had before. Those celebrating the death of LIV Golf when Brooks Koepka and Patrick Reed left over the winter may regret their bullish claims after a day and a week never to be forgotten in Adelaide.
40 years ago Formula 1 staged its first ever Australian Grand Prix, on the streets of Adelaide. It became, very quickly, one of the world's most anticipated and exciting races, and had remarkable community support. The promotion was ADELAIDE ALIVE. This week Adelaide was very definitely ALIVE. And so, was LIV Golf.
Long LIV Golf.
SHANK, by Matt Hooper / LIV Golf Staff
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