Anthony Kim Fans Blame 12-Year-Hiatus Played Villain in Disastrous LIV Debut: “He Didn’t Know”

Anthony Kim greeted his ‘haters’ in the LIV promotional video. But one look at social media shows that love is what’s showered on the LIV debutant despite two disastrous rounds. No one expected him to break 70 in his first event. So, two rounds of 76 haven’t gotten anyone ringing the alarm bells yet.

Rather fans are more than willing to look at the broader picture. Anthony Kim is returning to Golf after 12 years of absence that too in a drastically changed landscape. They believe being out of touch with professional golf has its effects. So, no one should be worried about two consecutive rounds above 70.

How has Anthony Kim performed so far?

Anthony Kim shot two back-to-back rounds of 6-over 76 at LIV Golf Jeddah. The debut round had six bogeys, while in the second round, the 38-year-old made two double bogeys to push his score down. The three-time PGA Tour winner is at 53, dead last, after Matthew Wolff’s second-round withdrawal.

Kim started with a bogey on the 15th in the second round, followed by a stretch of bogey, a double bogey, and another bogey on the next three holes. The former PGAT Pro is currently 25 shots behind the leader, Joaquin Niemann. 

After the first round, the LIV debutant said, “I would be lying to say that I didn’t have certain expectations. I thought I would shoot around par. It was unfortunate that I made so many unforced errors from the middle of the fairway.” Fans, though, are more than willing to cut him some slack. 

Fans are willing to wait and watch

Interestingly, Greg Norman provided some context for Kim’s absence from the professional scene. The Great White Shark said on a TV broadcast that the 38-year-old wasn’t accustomed to drones buzzing overhead. Which he cited as the reason behind Kim’s cold shank in the opening round. But that’s not the only reason, fans believe.

A section of fans on Reddit outright blamed LIV Golf for this. Calling out the odd format with shotgun starts and their undue focus on the promotion, this fan said Kim was caught wrongfooted in every step. “There is golf, then there is exhibition golf. No amount of home games with the boys could prepare AK for this exhibition golf event.”

Some pointed out that there were not a lot of fans at the Royal Greens Golf & Country Club. But they believed playing in front of blaring music was bothering him more. “I watched the broadcast, don’t think there were hundreds of fans but playing in front of a DJ blasting Highest in the Room has to be unnerving.”

Others felt that it’s the simple fact that Anthony Kim was out of touch with the game for too long. Moreover, they claimed that the three-time PGA Tour winner not having his go-to clubs since Nike shut down their golf business added to his plight. “Stories from liv/norman that AK went a couple years without clubs, didn’t know how a trackman worked… So, indication is that he was well removed from high level golf and even quite removed from golf in general.” It was a general consensus on Reddit that Kim would need a few more events to settle down. “I say give him two or three more tournaments to settle in,” one fan commented.

Another fan pointed out that Anthony Kim didn’t know about recent changes in golf. They commented, “He literally did not own clubs for a period of that time. He didn’t know how to use a trackman. He didn’t know the drop rule changed from shoulder height to knee height.”

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In retrospect, Norman debuting Kim in Jeddah seems to be a tactical move. With more eyeballs in the American greens, perhaps it would have been more difficult for Kim to keep his focus. While Kim is no stranger to boisterous crowds—Kim played the 2008 Ryder Cup at Valhalla—two outings outside the US soil will offer Kim a better chance to prepare for the eyeballs at Trump National Doral.

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