In case you missed it, Anthony Kim is teeing off in the PIF Saudi International. The LIV Golf pro, who made a shocking comeback from a 12-year hiatus (or oblivion if you want to call it that) earlier this year, made his first cut a week ago. That T37  at the International Series Qatar catapulted him over 2000 spots in the OWGR table. 

Anthony Kim now ranks 2,314 from the 4,595 that he ranked a week back. So, where does Tiger Woods fit in? Well, of course, Kim was dubbed the next Tiger Woods of golf back in the 2000s. There’s that but there is something more crucial. 

If you remember, Woods made a similar jump around this time last year. The 48-year-old made a 430-spot world ranking jump from outside 1300 to 898th. It was eye-popping no doubt, but meagre compared to Kim’s 2000-spot vault. But can Kim actually surpass the 15-time major champion’s best rank in 2024 by this week? Let’s explore that math as well. 

Tiger Woods is not teeing off at the Hero World Challenge, so, the former world no.1 will not receive any OWGR points. The 82-time PGA Tour winner, currently at 1096, reached 784 in the world ranking table after the Masters. Currently, Kim’s average point stands at 0.3685, to Woods’s 0.0690. So, the three-time PGA Tour winner needs to earn around 2.391 points to surpass Woods.

Whereas, if the three-time PGA Tour winner needs to overcome Woods’s best ranking, 784, Anthony Kim needs at least 5 points. Jonas Blixt, the 784th-ranked player currently, has 0.1336 average points. If Anthony Kim earns 5 points from the PIF Saudi International, his average will 0.1440.

Now, OWGR hasn’t released the field rating of PIF International. But last year, Abraham Ancer won 24.42 points as the champion. While it’s unlikely that Kim will emerge as a winner – the field includes Cameron Smith, Dustin Johnson, Tyrrell Hatton, and the like. But the 39-year-old can take over Woods possibly with a top-20 or a top-25 finish. Again it will mean surpassing a handful of his 42 LIV Golf mates in the field. 

So, technically, Kim has a chance, and he is indeed pumped about a great performance once again. On his Instagram story, the LIV Golf pro shared a story of his OWGR leap and wrote, “Let’s gooooo.” Moreover, his comments from the last tournament also reveal his future goals. 

Anthony Kim’s goals for 2025

Kim revealed that he picked up clubs only months before his LIV Golf debut. A 12-year gap has left its mark; Kim started off poorly eventually picking up pace and breaking inside the top-40. It doesn’t mean a lot given the field size was only 52, but for a golfer starting off after a decade-long break, it meant Kim was taking small steps in the right direction. 

And the three-time PGA Tour winner has bigger goals in mind. “Contending on Sundays,” Kim had a straight response when asked about his future plans. “I know a lot of people have probably seen my last year and don’t think that’s possible [contending on Sundays], but I think it’s going to happen. I 100% believe in myself, and I think it’s just a matter of time,” the LIV Golf pro said. Kim has teed off at 7:00 AM local time at the Riyadh Golf Club.