Anthony Kim’s 12-year layoff due to injuries was terminated in February when LIV Golf awarded him a season-long wildcard. Kim is a three-time winner of the PGA Tour.
Due to his disclosures regarding his battles with addiction and mental health, physicians were left to wonder how much longer Anthony Kim would live.
Kim, 38, made a comeback to the professional game in late February. This season, she is competing on the LIV Golf Tour as a wildcard. In doing so, the three-time winner of the PGA Tour put an end to nearly a decade-long hiatus from the game, which started following surgery for a torn left Achilles in the summer of 2012.
That would be the first of seven surgeries he would need to have while he was out of the game; he would also need surgery on his other Achilles, shoulder, back, hand, and knee. But Kim’s disinterest in the course wasn’t solely due to her physical discomfort.
He told the Australian newspaper The Age, “When I was at a low point in my life, I was scared I would wake up in the morning because of all the things I would have to deal with.” “A year and a half ago, I didn’t know how much longer I had to live,” Kim recalled.
He returned to playing golf eighteen months later, something he admitted “wasn’t even in the picture” given how long it had been since his last competition. Kim recalls thinking, “I can’t wait to get home and maybe go to a party,” after leaving that event.
He said, “I wasn’t focused on golf.” However, the ardor for the game has at last started to resurface.
The former world No. 6 estimates that he did not hold a club for “six or seven years” during that absence. Kim remarked, “I don’t know if I love golf, but I really enjoy it.” “I’m getting sucked into this game.” I understand that I have never appreciated it as much as I do now.
Kim is handling things more skillfully outside of the course as well. “My greatest fear right now is not being able to love and support my family when I wake up in the morning,” he said.
“Many incredible people have encouraged me to reach out to others and seek professional help. There was a time when I had to temporarily separate from my family in order to receive assistance.”
“In my life, that was a low point. Never having been one to discuss emotions, I was surprised by how many people who showed up to support me.
Kim went on, “My first career and where I am now are different in that I used to want to prove to other people that I could do it at this level. It interfered with my ability to look after myself. Rather than basing my sense of worth on how I feel about myself at the end of the day, I used to base it on what other people thought.
“I hope I can defeat the demons that present themselves every day. Regretfully, I didn’t handle them well when I was younger and took many actions to hide them.”
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