Anthony Kim
Kim at the 2009 PGA Championship
Personal information
Full nameAnthony Ha-Jin Kim
NicknameA.K.[1]
Born (1985-06-19) June 19, 1985 (age 38)
Los Angeles, California
Height5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Weight160 lb (73 kg; 11 st)
Sporting nationality United States
ResidenceDallas, Texas, U.S.
Career
CollegeUniversity of Oklahoma
(three years)
Turned professional2006
Former tour(s)PGA Tour (joined 2007)
European Tour (joined 2009)
Professional wins4
Highest ranking6 (September 28, 2008)[2]
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour3
Best results in major championships
Masters Tournament3rd: 2010
PGA ChampionshipT50: 2007
U.S. OpenT16: 2009
The Open ChampionshipT5: 2011
Anthony Kim
Hangul
김하진
Revised RomanizationGim Ha-Jin
McCune–ReischauerKim Ha-Chin

Anthony Ha-Jin Kim (born June 19, 1985) is an American professional golfer with three PGA Tour wins, who played in one Ryder Cup competition, and one Presidents Cup competition. He has not played in a PGA Tour event since an injury in 2012. He is believed to have had an insurance policy that would pay him $10-20 million in the case of a career-ending injury.[3]

Amateur career

A Korean American, Kim was born in Los Angeles, California, and resides in Dallas, Texas. He attended La Quinta High School in La Quinta, California. After high school, he attended the University of Oklahoma for three years; this is where he met his caddie, Brodie Flanders. During his time at Oklahoma, he set the school record for lowest career scoring average in relation to par.[4] He was part of the winning USA team in the 2005 Walker Cup.

Professional career

2006–2010

Kim turned professional in 2006 and after receiving a sponsor's exemption he finished in a tie for second on his PGA Tour debut at the 2006 Valero Texas Open. He earned his PGA Tour card through the qualifying school for the 2007 season. He made a strong start and broke into the top 100 in the Official World Golf Rankings in May 2007 with four top 10 finishes during his rookie season on the PGA Tour. In the 2007 U.S. Open, he shot a final round 67 earning him a tie for 20th place (he started the day at T57). His 67 was the lowest for the round and second lowest for the tournament.

In May 2008, Kim won his first PGA Tour tournament at the Wachovia Championship, defeating former British Open champion Ben Curtis by five shots. Kim's 16-under par 272 total was the lowest score in the tournament's history until 2015. He shot an opening day 70, but rallied for subsequent rounds of 67-66-69 and was several shots clear of Curtis most of the final round. He earned $1,152,000 for his victory, and reached a new career high of 16th in the world rankings.[5]

In July 2008, Kim won his second PGA Tour tournament at the AT&T National, defeating Freddie Jacobson by two shots. Kim shot a 5 under 65 in the fourth round to capture the title. The victory was especially meaningful because the tournament is hosted by Tiger Woods. Furthermore, Kim became the first American under 25 to win twice in one year on the PGA Tour since Tiger Woods in 2000. This win moved him to 14th in the World Rankings.[6] A pair of T-3 finishes in the final two 2008 FedEx Cup events pushed him to 6th in the World Rankings. He has spent over 20 weeks in the top-10 since 2008.[7]

In September 2008, Kim was a critical part of the United States' victory in the Ryder Cup at Valhalla Golf Club, defeating Ryder Cup veteran Sergio García 5 & 4 in the first match of the Sunday single matches. Later that year he joined the European Tour for the 2009 season, making his debut as a member at the 2008 HSBC Champions, the first tournament of the 2009 season.

At the 2009 Masters Tournament in Augusta, Georgia at Augusta National Golf Club, Kim set the record for most birdies in a round with eleven in the second round, surpassing Nick Price, who had ten birdies in 1986.

At the 2009 Presidents Cup, Kim posted an impressive 3–1 record, which included a 5 and 3 victory over Robert Allenby in the Sunday singles match.

Kim lost to Ross Fisher in the finals of the Volvo World Match Play in October 2009 4 & 3 after once again beating Robert Allenby in the semi-finals.

On April 4, 2010, Kim won the Shell Houston Open, beating Vaughn Taylor in a playoff. He became only the fifth player in 30 years to have won three times on the PGA Tour before the age of 25, the others being Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Sergio García and Adam Scott.[8] An injury hampered most of the rest of the 2010 season for Kim, and he failed to qualify for the 2010 Ryder Cup.

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]

Amateur wins

Note: this list may be incomplete.

Professional wins (4)

PGA Tour wins (3)

No. Date Tournament Winning score To par Margin of
victory 		Runner-up
1 May 4, 2008 Wachovia Championship 70-67-66-69=272 −16 5 strokes United States Ben Curtis
2 Jul 6, 2008 AT&T National 67-67-69-65=268 −12 2 strokes Sweden Freddie Jacobson
3 Apr 4, 2010 Shell Houston Open 68-69-69-70=276 −12 Playoff United States Vaughn Taylor

PGA Tour playoff record (1–0)

No. Year Tournament Opponent Result
1 2010 Shell Houston Open United States Vaughn Taylor Won with par on first extra hole

Other wins (1)

No. Date Tournament Winning score To par Margin of
victory 		Runner-up
1 Nov 11, 2009 Kiwi Challenge 71-66=137 −5 Playoff United States Sean O'Hair

Other playoff record (1–2)

No. Year Tournament Opponent Result
1 2008 Kiwi Challenge United States Hunter Mahan Lost to par on second extra hole
2 2009 Kiwi Challenge United States Sean O'Hair Won with bogey on first extra hole
3 2011 Lake Malaren Shanghai Masters Northern Ireland Rory McIlroy Lost to par on first extra hole

Results in major championships

Tournament 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011
Masters Tournament T20 3 CUT
U.S. Open T20 T26 T16 T54
The Open Championship T7 CUT T5
PGA Championship T50 T55 T51 CUT CUT
  Top 10
  Did not play

CUT = missed the half-way cut
T = tie

Summary

Tournament Wins 2nd 3rd Top-5 Top-10 Top-25 Events Cuts made
Masters Tournament 0 0 1 1 1 2 3 2
U.S. Open 0 0 0 0 0 2 4 4
The Open Championship 0 0 0 1 2 2 3 2
PGA Championship 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 3
Totals 0 0 1 2 3 6 15 11

Results in The Players Championship

Tournament 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011
The Players Championship CUT T42 CUT CUT
  Did not play

CUT = missed the halfway cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place

Results in World Golf Championships

Tournament 2008 2009 2010 2011
Match Play R32 R64 R64
Championship 58 T22 60
Invitational T36 T36 T76
Champions T10 T25
  Top 10
  Did not play

QF, R16, R32, R64 = Round in which player lost in match play
"T" = Tied
Note that the HSBC Champions did not become a WGC event until 2009.

PGA Tour career summary

Year Starts Cuts made Wins 2nd 3rd Top 10 Top 25 Earnings ($) Money list rank
2006 2 2 0 1 0 1 2 338,067 (non-member)
2007 26 20 0 0 1 4 10 1,545,195 60
2008 22 19 2 1 3 8 10 4,656,265 6
2009 22 17 0 1 2 3 8 1,972,155 39
2010 14 10 1 1 1 4 6 2,574,921 24
2011 26 14 0 0 0 2 7 1,085,846 87
2012 10 2 0 0 0 0 0 33,960 232
Career 122 84 3 4 7 22 43 12,206,409 133*

* Rank as of the 2015–16 season, the last time he appeared on the career money list

U.S. national team appearances

Amateur

Professional

Media work

Kim participated in the fourth episode of the second season of Shaq Vs., which aired on August 24, 2010. In the episode, Kim teamed up with Shaquille O'Neal against fellow golf pro Bubba Watson and NBA Hall of Famer Charles Barkley in a five-hole match. Team Shaq won in sudden death with O'Neal making the winning twenty-five foot putt.

See also

References

  1. ^ Morfit, Cameron (May 7, 2008). "The caddies lucky enough to call Anthony Kim boss were in for a rude awakening". Golf.com. Archived from the original on March 4, 2014.
  2. ^ "Week 39 2008 Ending 28 Sep 2008" (pdf). OWGR. Retrieved December 20, 2018.
  3. ^ a b Shipnuck, Alan (September 20, 2014). "Anthony Kim, MIA Since 2012, Wrestles With Whether To Tee It Up Again or Reap an Eight-Figure Disability Settlement". Golf.com. Archived from the original on March 17, 2017. Retrieved September 11, 2021.
  4. ^ "Abraham Ancer – 2012–13 – Men's Golf". University of Oklahoma Athletics. Retrieved June 17, 2023.
  5. ^ "Week 18 – Twenty Two Year Old Anthony Kim Wins the Wachovia Championship and Moves to World Number 16". Official World Golf Ranking. May 5, 2008.
  6. ^ "Week 27 – 23 Year-old Anthony Kim Wins the AT&T National and Climbs to World Number 14". Official World Golf Ranking. July 7, 2008.
  7. ^ "Players who have reached the Top Ten in the Official World Golf Ranking since 1986". European Tour Official Guide 09 (PDF) (38th ed.). PGA European Tour. 2009. p. 558. Retrieved January 16, 2009.
  8. ^ "Anthony Kim wins Shell Houston Open in play-off with Vaughn Taylor". The Guardian. April 5, 2010. Retrieved April 8, 2010.
  9. ^ "Kim has surgery, out 9-12 months". PGA Tour. July 18, 2012. Retrieved July 23, 2012.
  10. ^ Porter, Kyle (September 17, 2014). "Is insurance policy paying Anthony Kim $20M to stay off PGA Tour?". CBS Sports.
  11. ^ Hawkins, John (April 28, 2014). "Hawk's Nest: Anthony Kim, where have you gone?". Golf Channel. Archived from the original on September 18, 2014. Retrieved September 18, 2014.
  12. ^ "Anthony Kim spotted at another charity event". Golf Channel. September 17, 2016. Archived from the original on September 19, 2016. Retrieved September 17, 2016.
  13. ^ Dethier, Dylan (April 24, 2019). "Anthony Kim surfaces in West Hollywood, says golf game is 'non-existent'". Golf.com.
  14. ^ Dylan, Dethier (January 2, 2021). "Latest Anthony Kim sighting raises more questions than answers". Golf.com. Archived from the original on January 2, 2021. Retrieved September 11, 2021.
  15. ^ Chavkin, Daniel (January 25, 2024). "Anthony Kim Mounting Pro Golf Comeback 12 Years After Last Event, per Report". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved January 25, 2024.

External links

United States Ryder Cup team – 2008
United States Presidents Cup team – 2009
Categories