Anthony Kim changes his status in LIV Golf. The 40-year-old American golfer is competing this week in the LIV Golf Adelaide for the first time in the Saudi league within a team structure. Specifically, he has signed with Dustin Johnson’s 4Aces until the end of the season. He will, therefore, be the replacement for Patrick Reed.
Kim landed in 2024 in LIV Golf. He did so as a free agent. He joined the third tournament of the season held in Saudi Arabia. The move was seen more as a marketing gamble than anything else, as he had not competed for over twelve years, suffering from various physical problems and issues related to alcohol and substance use.
His first year was really poor. He played ten tournaments and finished beyond 46th place on eight occasions. In 2025, still as a free agent, his numbers did not improve much. He played thirteen tournaments and finished beyond 44th place in eleven of them. However, the feelings were somewhat better; he started to sign some competitive rounds and left a couple of green shoots: a top 30 in Miami and a top 25 in Dallas.
Nevertheless, his best moment undoubtedly came in the LIV Golf School 2026, in the LIV Golf Promotions. Kim secured one of the three spots available after signing three really good rounds of golf. Even before the School, he had commented that his golf was starting to be where he wanted it to be and that his goal was to win a tournament in LIV Golf. He returned to LIV due to his performance in the School as a free agent and now, after signing a good tournament in Riyadh, with his best result ever (22nd), he has taken a new step forward in the league by signing for a full year with Dustin Johnson’s team. He will also share the squad with Thomas Pieters and Thomas Detry.
It is obvious that Kim was not the first choice for the 4Aces, otherwise, they would have signed him within hours of Patrick Reed’s departure, and he would have already played with them, at least as a reserve, in the first tournament in Saudi Arabia. However, last week the replacement for Reed was the Filipino Miguel Tabuena. Be that as it may, and regardless of who they may have approached before, Kim has finally been chosen. We will now see the performance he can offer within a team. Certainly, he has earned this signing. Outside of LIV Golf, he already finished fifth in the PIF Saudi International held at the end of 2025.
LIV Golf will continue to have 57 players, 52 competing in teams and five free agents. The place left by Anthony Kim will be occupied precisely by Tabuena, who will play the whole year as a wild card. The Filipino, the first in history in LIV, finished third last year in the International Series. Another way to show the world ranking that there is also room for meritocracy in the Saudi league. Tabuena finished in 48th place in Riyadh last week.
