Would you believe that since I made the commitment to Golfshake (and myself, obviously) at the start of the year to write these weekly columns, seven weeks have passed – in truth, due to the lack of golf being played, it feels a lot longer. But this is in fact, my seventh weekly rambling.
This time in two weeks my clubs, shorts and some polo shirts will be packed away in a flight bag as I head to Spain for three days for some warm weather golf and, to be honest, I’m giddy with excitement. So much so that I had my six-year-old weighing himself holding my empty golf bag, calculating what weighs what and working out how many extra KGs I’d have to play with. I wrapped it up for him as “making maths fun”. Turns out it was more fun for me than him, but I digress.
I actually managed to play some golf this week. Twice in fact. Taking my total to three rounds for February and four for the year. St Ives in Cambridgeshire on Wednesday afternoon was still very wet, but tee to green not too bad, Felixstowe on Friday morning was blissful, albeit still with one or two temps. Golf was a bit mixed, but right now it’s just good to be playing and not focused too much on what I’m scoring – and whilst it’s feeling colder again, Tuesday looks dry and sunny, so something may need to happen – as it looks rather grim towards the end of the week.
Side note – for those wondering, my new irons and mini driver still haven’t arrived, but I’m fairly hopeful of them showing up at some point this week…
What Made Anthony Kim’s Victory Special
For those that read some of my stuff on Golfshake, or in fact follow me on social media, you will know I am not the biggest fan of LIV Golf. Far from it, in fact. I don’t care about where the money comes from, I don’t care about who left for LIV and why. What I care about is the friction it caused within the game. I don’t like the way some players look down their noses at the tours that treated them so well for so long.
What I do love, however, is a good story.
I’ve been playing golf properly for around 15/16 years. In fact, I recorded my very first full 18-hole round of golf on Golfshake on 25th July 2009 at North Weald Golf Club, which is now partially a housing development (for those wondering I shot 108 that included two pars).
So, I have no recollection that a year earlier, a young prodigy by the name of Anthony Kim had made his Ryder Cup debut and was pretty much the talk of the game or some of the standards he was setting.
I don’t remember Anthony Kim setting the record for the most birdies in a round at Augusta National with 11.
I don’t remember Anthony Kim becoming the youngest American golfer since a certain Tiger Woods to win two tournaments in a single year on the PGA tour.
In fact, the first I really knew about Anthony Kim was some years later when he seemed to have disappeared under a cloud of rumour and I wondered what all the fuss was about.
Even Sam Harrop, the social media singing golfer, who shot to fame after writing and singing a song about Tony Finau six year’s ago (if you don’t know it, here is the link), wrote his second song in tribute to Anthony Kim.
It also seemed that the world didn’t know the depths that Kim had sunk to, as injury, mental struggles and addiction pretty much left him on the brink. He has even admitted that the only thing that kept him alive was the support from his wife and knowing that his daughter wanted her father around.
Fast forward a few years and Anthony Kim makes a sensational comeback on the LIV Golf tour. At the time, I probably wasn’t the only one thinking that was a genius publicity stunt to bring him back into golf’s spotlight. I remember when the rumours first surfaced and then the first clip of him hitting balls on a range surfaced. The internet was going mad.
In the 2024 season he finished 56th out of 57 players in the LIV golf rankings, a year later he finished 55th and was relegated from the league altogether.
And that was that. Right?
Wrong.
He went back to the dirt, worked hard and kept digging in.
He made his way back on to the tour via the qualifying event – an achievement in itself.
Then, during Valentine’s weekend, the romantic story had its fairytale.
Paired with two of the biggest names in world golf, Jon Rahm and Bryson DeChambeau, Kim stole the show and our hearts.
A final round of 63 and Anthony Kim – who started the final round five shots off the lead – won LIV Golf Adelaide. His first victory in nearly 16 years.
Upon holing out and claiming the title, his wife and daughter came running on to the green with some of the most emotional scenes we have seen – probably since Tiger claimed his last major at The Masters in 2019.
They truly were remarkable scenes, of which I think only golf can throw out and it’s a lesson to everyone and anyone who may read this.
Never, ever give up.
Matt Holbrook is a long-serving Golfshake ambassador known for his course features, opinion pieces, and product reviews. A dedicated golfer from Suffolk, he is an active member of Stowmarket and Felixstowe Ferry Golf Clubs and frequently travels to play in open competitions. With hundreds of rounds logged through Golfshake, Matt is committed to continuous improvement and enjoys sharing insights from his experiences on and off the course.
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