At the shout of “let’s fucking go”, Anthony Kim was sinking birdie putts one after another on holes 12, 13, 14, and 15 to finish writing the story of the year in the world of golf and one of those beautiful tales that sport occasionally gifts us.
After being twelve years without playing golf (2012-2024), almost sixteen since his last victory, buying all the tickets to feature in the headlines of the news sections and dancing with death holding it by the waist, this 40-year-old Californian has returned from beyond to topple Jon Rahm and Bryson DeChambeau and win the LIV Golf Australia.
The final day at The Grange Golf Club in Adelaide was drawn as a wild head-to-head between Rahm and DeChambeau, the two main figures of LIV Golf. Anthony Kim, the third member of the star group, seemed like the luxury adornment for this battle, the anecdote, perhaps the cherry on top of a perfect story. He started five shots behind, a distance that seemed astronomical given the two bulls he had to deal with.
However, the duel between Jon and Bryson was full of mistakes. One after another. First and especially from the American. Four bogeys in the first seven holes with chaotic golf. Bad from the tee, poor with the irons, and very inaccurate on the greens. The final straw was a missed one-metre putt for par on the 7th. The effervescence he reached in Saturday’s round seemed to fade with Jon’s eagle on the 18th and he never recovered it. He fell behind very early and this time couldn’t find a way back. He hinted at a comeback with two birdies on holes 12 and 13, but they were nothing more than a mirage. By then, Anthony Kim had already taken control.
Rahm wasn’t shining either. Quite the opposite. He was struggling like on Saturday. It was incredibly difficult for him to find the fairway. On the 1st, he ended up on the 2nd fairway, many metres to the right of the target. On the 2nd, he missed left. On the 3rd, he saved a sensational par from the bunker. On the 4th, he made another birdie with a monumental escape from the sand. It was Jon in pure form. Without playing anywhere near his best golf, he was one under par and, moreover, he crafted a textbook hole 5 and left himself a two-metre birdie putt on the 5th. Everything under control.
However, he missed that putt and that was the foretold chronicle of what was to happen. This time there was no magic on the greens to counteract too many gaps with his long game. He missed two other good chances on the 7th and 10th. Meanwhile, the Anthony Kim cyclone had already taken over the scene.
At first, it was gradual. Playing by far the best golf of the three, he made birdies without much struggle on holes 4, 5, 7, and 9. He was getting closer. He was one behind with nine holes to go. The story was brewing, but it still seemed unbelievable. There was no way to believe that was going to happen. Well, he’ll fall or, above all, DeChambeau or Rahm will get their act together, step on the accelerator, and finish this. That was the idea floating in the air.
It was then that Kim entered a state of ecstasy on the greens. He made four consecutive putts from between three and six metres. To the beat of a drum. With Australia roaring as if he were one of their own. With the United States staying up late to see live that it was real. And it was indeed real. One, two, three, and four. Suddenly, with three holes to go, Kim was three strokes ahead of Jon Rahm, who couldn’t convert his birdie chances, none very short in that stretch, while DeChambeau had exited the equation. He never got into rhythm.
The story was Kim’s. First, it was with a “let’s go” that resonated worldwide, then another “let’s go” and, finally, unleashed by euphoria, two unstoppable “let’s fucking go”. And the crowd, drunk with emotion and happiness. If you have to write a story of this calibre, let it be in Australia. Anthony, whose only mission in life was now to stay sober every day, away from the alcohol and drugs that almost took him down, had done it.
His last victory was 5,795 days ago at the Shell Houston Open in 2010, a week before finishing third in the Masters. Those were days of wine (literally) and roses. The player who enamoured golf in 2008, with two wins at the Wachovia and the AT&T National, who dominated the Ryder Cup at Valhalla and reached sixth in the world ranking, has returned from the dead to win a golf tournament again. And what a tournament.
Jon pressed with a birdie on the 16th, trying to test the resilience of an emotional Kim. But the story was already written. He still made one more birdie putt from another five metres on the 17th to put the finishing touch on a memorable day of golf. Because yes, he made many putts when needed, but he also played golf like an angel, not missing a shot, hitting the spot every time. Playing irons from the tee on the last holes when the situation was already under control. As if he were once again the Number 6 in the world ranking. As if he had never stopped being it.
Kim finished with par on the 18th for a total of -23, a round of nine under this Sunday. Stratospheric. Rahm finishes second again, three strokes behind. A round of one under in the final round. Tied for third place were Tyrrell Hatton, Peter Uihlein, and Bryson DeChambeau. Cameron Smith’s Australians took the team victory.
