He soon had a question.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2018Who\u2019s Anthony Kim?\u2019<\/p>\n
Killen laughed while telling the story. Who\u2019s Anthony Kim? How much time do you have? <\/p>\n
Today, Kim is your latest LIV Golf winner<\/a>, after a Sunday rally in Australia that saw him track down Jon Rahm<\/a>, the 2021 U.S. Open and 2023 Masters winner, and Bryson DeChambeau<\/a>, the 2020 and 2024 U.S. Open champ. There\u2019s overwhelmingly more to it, though. Kim had been everywhere. And then nowhere. There were no wins since 2010. And no golf, nor much of anything in terms of public appearance, for a dozen years starting in 2012. What happened over that stretch is mostly unknown, though Kim has shared stories of alcohol and drug abuse.\u00a0<\/p>\n But Killen still had those videos. He\u2019d recorded a few of Kim around the 2008 Ryder Cup, played at Valhalla in Killen\u2019s home state of Kentucky, where the young teaching pro was coaching a quarter of the U.S. team (Kenny Perry, Chad Campbell and J.B. Holmes) and its captain (Paul Azinger). He showed his wife the recordings. That\u2019s the dude who won three times before the age of 25. That\u2019s the dude who throttled Sergio Garcia in Sunday singles at the Ryder Cup. That\u2019s the dude who once birdied 11 holes at the Masters \u2014 in one round. That\u2019s the dude with the \u2018AK\u2019 belt.\u00a0<\/p>\n That\u2019s the dude Killen said he bumped into about a month before Kim returned to pro golf in February of 2024.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI was like, man, \u2018I have asked people over the last 12 years if anybody\u2019s seen you and you\u2019ve completely been gone,\u2019\u201d Killen said.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201c\u2018Like this is amazing to even run into you. How are you? What\u2019s going on?\u2019\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n A few days later, Kim texted:<\/p>\n Could he see him swing?<\/p>\n How Anthony Kim\u2019s game came back over two years, capped by a victory<\/p>\n Those closest to Anthony Kim knew his secret all along<\/a><\/p>\n By:<\/p>\n Killen and Kim had connected here and there during Kim\u2019s time on the PGA Tour, at ranges and tournaments mostly, while Kim played practice rounds with Perry. \u201cAs a young coach,\u201d Killen said, \u201cit was just kind of trying to pick up a nugget here or there.\u201d Kim\u2019s swagger enthralled him, though. It was one thing that he was successful. But it was how he was doing it. To Killen, Kim was cinematic.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cHe knew he was going to play good,\u201d he said. \u201cThat\u2019s an intimidating opponent.\u201d<\/p>\n As are 12 years away. In most major sports, that\u2019s an entire career. That\u2019s graduating high school, graduating college and being well on your way in the workforce. For Kim? The hiatus showed. On one of their first sessions, Killen said Kim didn\u2019t even have clubs. A plan developed, though. Killen treated the absence as if Kim were returning from injury. He\u2019d had experience there. Perry had had a knee operation; Holmes a brain procedure. First, they\u2019d work on a foundation. Then hit shots. Then figure out scoring.\u00a0<\/p>\n Then finally play golf.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cYou always have that little bit of a question or at least I think the player does, like, will I be able to do it?\u201d Killen said. \u201cAnd as your body changes over time, you do have to adapt based on what you can physically do. So there\u2019s \u2018what I used to do.\u2019 Well, can you still move the way you used to move after surgeries and things that have happened?\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cSo it\u2019s a fine line between trying to re-create what once was and taking what once was and adapting it to where you currently are In life or physically.\u201d<\/p>\n It all sounded great.\u00a0But then Kim tanked.\u00a0<\/p>\n Season 1 with LIV, Kim finished 56th out of 58 players who received points in the season-long standings.\u00a0<\/p>\n Season 2 with LIV, Kim was relegated from the league.\u00a0<\/p>\n Around early January of this year, Kim and Killen talked. Kim was entering LIV\u2019s \u201cPromotions Event,\u201d which awards three spots into the LIV season. Stumble there, and the future would be foggy.<\/p>\n Kim finished third.\u00a0<\/p>\n A few weeks later, on Sunday in Australia, he won.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t think either one of us was like, \u2018OK, I hope you play good,\u2019\u201d Killen said of the Promotions Event. \u201cWe were like, \u2018Hey, you\u2019ve got to go do this. Like, how are you going to do it?\u2019 And he said he\u2019s going to do it. And so then backtracking, like what shots do you need, how are you going to manage that, what information do we put in that is helpful but doesn\u2019t take away the ability for him to be an athlete.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd what that means is letting subconscious take over. You don\u2019t even think about positions or complex swing thoughts when you need to hole it. \u2026 You\u2019ve got to play golf.\u201d<\/p>\n Killen said there was never a Plan B. Still isn\u2019t.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI mean, if you watch the shots he hit [on Sunday], you know, under the gun, he hit the most incredible shots. And again, that\u2019s a superpower, like being able to do it when it matters the most. He wants the ball. He wants that opportunity. And you can see it. He likes the energy. He likes the crowd. The way he walked and carried himself in his prior PGA Tour life, I like that about him because confidence, that\u2019s a major part of life, being able to believe in yourself and have that self-belief \u2014 are you going to show off or to not mess up? You want the guys going to show off.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cAnd he has that.\u201d<\/p>\n What it was like watching Anthony Kim\u2019s win\u00a0<\/p>\n Anthony Kim\u2019s impossible LIV win: How\u2019d it happen \u2014 and what does it mean?<\/a><\/p>\n By:<\/p>\n , , After the win, Killen was proud. And tired. On Sunday, he watched from Florida, where the final round ended around 2 a.m. The next day, Killen FaceTimed Kim, along with Kim\u2019s wife, Emily; and Kim\u2019s daughter, Bella.\u00a0<\/p>\n Shortly into the call, Killen wondered how Kim felt.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s like, I don\u2019t really know,\u201d Killen said.\u00a0<\/p>\n There are, of course, layers here. He\u2019d won before. He thought he\u2019d win again. Easy. Or not so much. After 12 years away and two underwhelming seasons, you could be excused for thinking he wouldn\u2019t. There\u2019s also what Kim had been through during his absence. Killen and Kim have talked about that. Knowing what he does, Killen said what Kim has done is golf\u2019s greatest comeback story. (Notably, Killen had also worked with Tiger Woods<\/a> during Woods\u2019 2019 Masters win.) Kim\u2019s family is also a part of things. Seconds after his final stroke in Australia, Kim looked for Emily and Bella. \u201cHe told me a long time ago,\u201d Killen said, \u201cthat he wanted to show his daughter that he wasn\u2019t a loser.\u201d<\/p>\n Comebacks aren\u2019t straightforward. Often they fizzle. Sports, while entertaining, aren\u2019t movies.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n But the thought was: Why not believe?<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve been telling everybody since he came back, \u2018I think he\u2019ll win again,\u2019\u201d Killen said. \u201cAnd I had a lot of people call me and tell me, like, \u2018Wow, like I did not see this coming at any point.\u2019 And again his resilience and determination.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cAnd his ability.\u201d<\/p>\n That epic swing.\u00a0<\/p>\n The idea of that never left, Team Kim felt.\u00a0<\/p>\n Nor did it for the student who once wondered who Anthony Kim was. As these things sometimes go, he was back on the range with Killen on Monday.\u00a0<\/p>\n He\u2019s since met Kim. Seen the process. Seen him play.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cHe was like \u2026 ,\u201d Killen said, \u201cyou gave me an example.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n ![\"Anthony](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/anthony-kim-celebrates.jpg\")
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\n Josh Berhow <\/a><\/p>\n
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\n James Colgan <\/a><\/p>\n
\n Sean Zak <\/a><\/p>\n
\n Dylan Dethier <\/a><\/p>\n