imagine a budding superstar who not only stops playing his chosen sport, but practically disappears
galaxy27
Posts: 9,905 ✭✭✭✭✭
this happened in golf. i know, i know, golf. but even if you couldn't care less about the sport, i think some of you will find this story quite interesting. i'll give you the (relatively) abridged version prior to the article below.
in 2006, a guy by the name of Anthony Kim hit the tour. he had an accomplished amateur career. he almost won his first start as a pro, coming in 2nd at the Valero Open. in 2008, he won multiple times -- the first American under the age of 25 to do so since Tiger Woods pulled it off back in 2000. later that year he made Sergio Garcia his little bitch at the Ryder Cup, trouncing him 5 & 4 in the first match of the Sunday single matches, which the USA went on to win. at the 2009 Masters, he set the record for the most birdies in a single round with eleven(!). the dude flashed serious game and his future was so bright that it required solar eclipse glasses. and on top of that, he was a heavy partier and possessed a bit of an idgaf attitude. a very, very popular player.
now fast forward a few years
a slew of injuries which led to an overabundance of poor play. in April of 2012 I was at the Shell Houston Open and i personally witnessed AK rinsing two drives on the final hole of his first round. i remember him having the look of a guy who would rather be anywhere else. he shot 79 that day and promptly withdrew. a month later, he played his final professional round at the Wells Fargo Championship. he again played poorly, and he again withdrew.
then, he stopped playing golf and all but disappeared. and when i say all but disappeared, i'm not embellishing. in the past 12 years there have been more sightings of the Loch Ness Monster giving Bigfoot a piggyback ride than reports of Anthony Kim's whereabouts.
i'm sure many of you are ready to unload a couple of questions:
Q: why didn't he rehab and come back?
A: because he had an insurance policy that guaranteed him 10 mil if he never picked up a club again
Q: why are you are posting this now?
A: because he is rumored to be joining LIV very soon
imagine a stud in your favorite sport flashing unparalleled talent, then vanishing. and then, 12 YEARS LATER, possibly returning. color me fascinated.
Comments
The Roy Hobbs of golf. 😊
Q: why didn't he rehab and come back?
A: because he had an insurance policy that guaranteed him 10 mil if he never picked up a club again
He could not play professionally to keep his insurance stash.
Interesting story
Jay Berwanger?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthony_Kim
Wikipedia - Anthony Kim
2011–present
In June 2012, Kim had surgery after injuring the Achilles tendon in his left leg and was expected to miss 9 to 12 months.[9] Kim was eligible for the 2013 season on a Major Medical Exemption, but has failed to play a single tournament since.[3][10]
In April 2014, Golf Channel reported that Kim no longer plays golf, even on a recreational level.[11] In 2016, Kim played in a number of charity events, but said he was not ready to play professionally again. He also cited ongoing physical therapy and numerous surgeries as the reasons for delaying his return.[12]
In April 2019, during an encounter with a fan in West Hollywood, California, Kim referred to his golf game as "non-existent".[13] On January 1, 2021, Adam Schriber, Kim's longtime coach, posted a photo of the two in front of the Dallas skyline with the caption "2021 is going to be special".[14]
In January 2024, Golf.com reported that Kim was in discussions to return to professional golf for either the PGA Tour or LIV Golf.[15]
i have noticed a womens golfer by the name of grace charis recently who is quite impressive
Indeed she is.
popping this thread over 2 years later
last night, Anthony Kim won the LIV tournament in Australia. i'm still unable to comprehend it
15+ years ago his potential was through the roof. go back to my initial post for his accomplishments. then, he fell off the face of the earth, and it was almost permanent. injuries, alcoholism, drug addiction so severe that it distorted his face, and for over a decade it was easier to spot bigfoot. he quit playing golf and literally vanished from the public eye. then a couple of years ago, he resurfaced. in interviews, he admitted to having suicidal thoughts every day for two decades. LIV gave him a shot to play on their tour as a wild card. he played like crap. in 2024, he came in last in the individual standings. he was relegated. he had to go back and play lesser off-season tournaments in an attempt to re-join LIV again. then, the potential he once had started to emerge. he was one of 3 golfers to earn a spot for the 2026 LIV season by virtue of his results. he played well in Saudi Arabia last week, and he was playing even better this week. heading into the final round he was in third place, 5 shots behind two of the best players on the planet in Jon Rahm and Bryson DeChambeau. oddsmakers gave him a .1% chance of winning the tournament. he proceeded to shoot a 63, destroy both of those guys, and win a golf tournament for the first time in 5,795 days. and speaking of destroy, that's what he did to my mind.
it's in the pantheon of greatest comeback stories.......in any sport
https://x.com/livgolf_league/status/2022920100375073122?ref_src=twsrc^tfw|twcamp^tweetembed|twterm^2022920100375073122|twgr^57207934846a4d179fe0e4e5100a239b29b664a6|twcon^s1_c10&ref_url=https://www.golfdigest.com/story/anthony-kim-wins-liv-adelaide
Roy Hobbs.
He was a natural.
He's 40 years old. Further proof that the human body has remarkable healing powers if you allow it to happen before too much damage is done.
sometimes when you're at the bottom, the top seems like it's 100 light years away. but it's never quite that far, especially if you choose not for it to be.
so many great articles, but I chose this one if anyone is interested. for those unaware of him, he possessed extreme raw talent back in the day. as i said in my initial post back in 2024, he holds the record for the number of birdies in a round at Augusta National.......11! he had serious firepower, and yesterday he showed that the fire had not been completely extinguished.......almost two decades later.
https://sports.yahoo.com/golf/article/no-matter-the-stage-anthony-kims-first-win-in-16-years-is-a-comeback-story-we-can-all-get-behind-105130706.html
Great story.
One thing I've observed in common with all these comeback stories. Is the person always has a "lightbulb moment", when something happens, could be a near death experience, but it's something that turns on the switch to change their life. Could have been he found love or whatever.
In any event, I'm glad it happened to him, and wish him continued success.
Any time I. Think about athletes disappearing I always think of Todd Gurley and Michael Thomas
The fascinating part of this story is that anyone can get injured playing golf!!! 😂😂😂😂😂😂
"Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety," --- Benjamin Franklin
It's reported, he cashed-in $10 to $20 million of a disability insurance policy due to his achilles injury and multiple surgeries. It is unclear if he still keeps all the money because it's possible his settlement was tied to the PGA Tour and not another pro tour. His extended disappearance from the game was likely expanded by this unique twist.
That said, it is impressive for him to win again. I turned it off when 9+ holes to play and was suprised to see how poorly Bryson & Rahm were hitting it off the tee. I'm not a fan of LIV Golf and hope it goes the way of the dodo bird. For the main reason I want to see the best players in the world play on one tour. Do not blame them one bit for taking a bunch of money...
Erik
I would venture a guess and say back injuries are the most common golf injury. I’ve injured my back playing golf a few times and for me it was always because I didn’t stretch properly before playing. You definitely need to loosen up the back muscles.
Tiger had such a violent swing he had a lot of back problems.
I hope that golfer continues to do well and is done with the drugs. One day at a time dude… keep it going. 🥳
I just happened about Jim Rome yesterday, for first time in years, and he was talking about this story. What an amazing comeback. Hopefully it continues! Good luck to him!