Did Jay Monahan Miss the Anthony Kim Bus? Brian Harman’s Comments Hints at a Missed Opportunity

Brian Harman hasn’t forgotten the 2005 Walker Cup heroics with Anthony Kim. Harman and Kim halved their first foursome and then won the next day by 4 and 2 as the US walked up to a one-point victory. Their career trajectory has been wildly different. Kim, who kissed the sun quite early in his career, hid in the shadows for over a decade before reappearing again in LIV Golf this year. 

Kim, though, was linked with the PGA Tour as well. Jay Monahan admitted the 38-year-old was eligible for some tournaments as well. Harman once described his former teammate as a “top-three most talented, incredible, just top-to-bottom golfer, ever.” The sentiment hasn’t changed even after Kim ditched the PGA Tour in favor of the breakaway side. 

Harman is still sold on Anthony Kim

Harman admits they have been out of touch for over a decade. But the reigning Open champion has kept up with what Kim has revealed so far. The 38-year-old is a happy family man with his wife, Emily, and daughter Isabella. Emily, in fact, inspired Kim to come back to the greens he was promised to reign over. The debut hasn’t been very spectacular. But that was expected, considering Kim began serious practice only weeks before his debut.

Playing as a wildcard, his best show came in Hong Kong—a solo 50 on the 54-man leaderboard. Kim hopes he can still summit the peak and Harman is  “rooting for him from the sidelines.” “I’m always interested when someone kind of picks up the pieces and comes back. It’s nice to see him playing golf again. He sure was tough to beat when he was playing well. I hope he finds a little bit of that form,” the three-time PGA Tour winner said, per Bunkered. 

In 2021, Harman told Golf’s SubPar podcast that Kim “could hit it as far as anyone when he wanted to,” But his strength was in his short game, and ironplay. Essentially, Anthony Kim was a complete player who was poised to win big on the Tour. Perhaps reach a double-digit major number, even. 

Kim was also supremely confident, and his brash fast-lane lifestyle and on-course fashion choices made him the apple’s eye of fans. Predictably, Kim’s return to the grand stage through LIV golf shocked his fans and teammates. Many dubbed it as a missed opportunity for the Tour. More so, because the three-time PGA Tour winner was still eligible for some events. 

Why did Kim go to LIV Golf?

When his return rumors gained momentum, a PGA Tour spokesperson revealed that Anthony Kim could still earn exemptions in some tournaments. Arguably, there would have been no shortage of sponsor exemptions as well. Per some reports, Kim had a $10 million insurance policy that would turn null and void if he ever returned to the game. However, LIV Golf, with a guaranteed contract sum, obviated that sticking point. 

Kim has been out of touch with golf since bowing out of the stage in 2012. The former PGA Tour Pro had multiple surgeries that delayed his return. Succumbed into a quagmire, which he doesn’t wish on anybody, Anthony Kim was out of touch from the game. So much so that he only heard Tiger Woods won a major again and got to know about Brooks Koepka’s repeat win only recently. Kim will tee off in Singapore this weekend.