Anthony Kim LIV Golf Report Rebuffed By Friend Of Enigmatic Former PGA Tour Star

A friend of Anthony Kim has rubbished reports that the former PGA Tour star could return to the sport with LIV Golf

Anthony Kim takes a shot at the 2012 Shell Houston Open
(Image credit: Getty Images)

A few raised eyebrows and raised hopes that the golfing enigma that is Anthony Kim could be back in the limelight seem to have been dashed, with reports about him thinking about a possible move to LIV Golf being rubbished by a friend.

The 37-year-old hasn’t played competitive golf since 2012, yet Kim remains a headline maker whenever he’s mentioned in connection with a possible return.

When an article in the New York Times was then published saying Kim hadn’t ruled out returning to play in LIV Golf, his legion of fans jumped all over it to speculate that their cult hero could make a huge return to the sport.

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Their joy has been short-lived though as the report, which cites his former caddie Eric Larson, has been immediately rubbished by famous jeweller and friend of Kim, Ben Baller.

The podcaster and golf fan quickly took to Twitter, saying he had recently spoken to Kim at length and that the New York Times report was way off the mark.  

“You guys are acting like you got a direct quote from AK. But AK hasn’t talked to his coach in almost three months, so I don’t know what you guys are talking about,” he said directly addressing the New York Times.

“Because I talk to Anthony almost every single day, I talked to him yesterday for an hour, and I’m not at liberty to talk about anything else, but do better guys.”

Kim fought injuries for years before putting his clubs away for good, and revealed in 2015 that he was receiving insurance payments for not being able to play anymore.

What’s not quite clear is whether those payments would come under threat if he returned to play either on the PGA Tour or for LIV Golf.

So for now, fanatical followers of the enigmatic 2008 Ryder Cup star will have to save themselves for if or when Kim makes that long-awaited reappearance on the golfing scene he once shone on but seemingly disappeared without a trace.

Paul Higham
Contributor

Paul Higham is a sports journalist with over 20 years of experience in covering most major sporting events for both Sky Sports and BBC Sport. He is currently freelance and covers the golf majors on the BBC Sport website.  Highlights over the years include covering that epic Monday finish in the Ryder Cup at Celtic Manor and watching Rory McIlroy produce one of the most dominant Major wins at the 2011 US Open at Congressional. He also writes betting previews and still feels strangely proud of backing Danny Willett when he won the Masters in 2016 - Willett also praised his putting stroke during a media event before the Open at Hoylake. Favourite interviews he's conducted have been with McIlroy, Paul McGinley, Thomas Bjorn, Rickie Fowler and the enigma that is Victor Dubuisson. A big fan of watching any golf from any tour, sadly he spends more time writing about golf than playing these days with two young children, and as a big fair weather golfer claims playing in shorts is worth at least five shots. Being from Liverpool he loves the likes of Hoylake, Birkdale and the stretch of tracks along England's Golf Coast, but would say his favourite courses played are Kingsbarns and Portrush.