WATCH: LIV Golf CEO Greg Norman reflects on Anthony Kim's remarkable journey back to golf
LIV Golf CEO Greg Norman recently reflected on Anthony Kim's return to professional tournaments. The American golfer finally made a much-anticipated comeback at the LIV Golf Jeddah after being on hiatus for around 12 years.
The tournament started on March 1 in Saudi Arabia and Norman spoke about Kim's return during a panel show for the event. He opened up about the highs and lows Kim experienced over the last few years and expressed his excitement at seeing the golfer back on the course.
Norman said (via NUCLR Golf on X):
"We reached out to AK early on and it wasn't the right time for him. But I wanted him to know that we had interest in re-igniting him and bringing his passion and belief in the game of golf back out."
"To get to the point where we're at it was probably very emotional and passionate for me to be able to pull him back into the game because very few people know what it was like to be at the upper level like he was, he was an incredible player just before the end of my career," he continued.
"I watched him and I saw this talent and then to see him fall into this dark hole and then about a year to clean himself up, get himself back, injuries whatever it is and to see where he is today and to walk with him and be with him in the last month-and-a-half, six weeks, to go through this process, he didn't want an agent, he wanted to do it all himself, he wanted to speak to me, he wanted to speak to one other person," he added.
Check out Greg Norman's comments in the video below:
A quick recap of Anthony Kim's performance at the 2024 LIV Golf Jeddah
Anthony Kim teed it up for the inaugural round of the Jeddah event on Friday, March 1 in Saudi Arabia. This was his first professional tournament since his withdrawal from the 2012 Wells Fargo Championship.
Kim, however, struggled with his game throughout the first round on Friday. He finished last on the leaderboard after playing the 18 holes.
Kim had a smooth start to his game. He made par on the first four holes before adding a bogey on the fifth. But he quickly bounced back with a birdie on the next but again struggled and made three back-to-back bogeys. He shot seven bogeys and just one birdie in the first round and settled for a score of 6 over par.
Adrian Meronk and Jon Rahm, the newest additions to LIV Golf, topped the leaderboard of the Jeddah event with a score of 8 under after the first round. Rahm shot a bogey-free round on Friday while Meronk carded seven birdies, an eagle, and a bogey to match the score and took the lead in the game.
LIV Golf Jeddah will have its finale on Sunday, March 3.