Greg Norman provides details of Anthony Kim's comeback: "He was in a dark place"

Greg Norman says LIV Golf tried to lure Anthony Kim out of retirement two years ago but it was his wife Emily that inspired his comeback after he found himself in 'a dark place'. 

Norman hopped in the booth during the opening round of LIV Golf Jeddah to discuss Kim's return. 

Kim, now 38 years old, has been absent from the men's game since he withdrew from the PGA Tour's 2012 Wells Fargo Championship. 

The American underwent Achilles surgery and hasn't been seen properly until now. At one stage, he was looked upon as a possible heir to Tiger Woods. 

It is widely assumed that Kim cashed in on a mega insurance payout worth $10-20m after a number of injuries began to stack up. 

Perhaps Kim fell out of love with the game. Who knows, but Kim did promise to 'beat the assess' of his competition throughout 2024 with LIV. 

Norman told LIV's broadcast team that the reaction to Kim's move has been 'mixed'. Ian Poulter described Kim as the 'Loch Ness Monster'

Understandably, Norman looked as though he was the cat that got the cream as he discussed Kim. 

There is no denying the signature of Kim is a huge win, at least in PR terms. 

Related:

• Report: LIV Golf facing fresh $50m legal headache
• "Can I get a mulligan?" Anthony Kim's first tee shot on LIV Golf did not go well
• Tour pro labels LIV stars Talor Gooch and Anthony Kim 'f---ing idiots'

Asked how Kim's signing came about, Norman told the broadcast they reached out to the golfer 24 months ago. 

Norman said that when he first reached out to Kim he was in 'a dark hole' but he wanted to 're-ignite' his passion for the game. 

"We reached out to AK early on and it wasn't the right time for him," he said. 

"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."

Norman 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 just wanted to deal with this thing because he has been reinvigorated in life through his wife Emily, through his daughter Bella, and it's brought something back to him and I was walking with Emily down the first hole and I said, 'What was it that really got him back?' And she said it’s the game of golf. 

"I said the game of golf is one thing, hitting the ball right, but it's the emotional that allows him to go 'Ooh I'm good at this, golf is a safe haven, oh god golf is going to give me something else'.

"What that is the happiness that he hasn't been in for the last 12 years until he met Emily."

Scroll down...

 

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A post shared by . (@golfmagic)

Norman said Kim had a mystique about him, adding: "He has been reinvigorated in life through his wife Emily and his daughter Bella.

"Whatever happens today doesn't really matter. I said to Emily on the first tee today, 'the journey of 1,000 miles starts with a single step, and that first step is his first swing today' and there'll be a process for him to go through."

Kim ended up returning a scorecard of 6-over 76 for his first professional round in more than 4,000 days. 

Norman said: "I'm just so happy for LIV, I'm happy for golf, I'm happy for AK and the family and his journey is going to be a fantastic thing.

"His interest back in the game of golf was created because Emily his wife wanted to learn how to play the game of golf. 

"So the two of them went out on the golf course, Emily said he's a very, very good teacher and she's fallen in love with the game so they started playing golf two, three, four times a week together. 

"So this journey has been a journey of two, not one.

"AK will find himself in a better place, not this first round it's not the second round it's not the second tournament, but you start looking when he starts feeling comfortable with himself, the oozing of the talent is going to start coming through."

“The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.”@anthonykimgolf @livgolf_league #LIVGolf pic.twitter.com/7gFsZsDWaS

— Greg Norman (@SharkGregNorman) March 1, 2024

What did you make of Anthony Kim's return? 

Send us a message on X or join us on Facebook.

Read next:

• Rory McIlroy goes easy on Talor Gooch then daggers him with final line
• "What's he ever done?!" PGA Tour winner slams Talor Gooch's Masters comments