Last year, LIV Golf brought back Anthony Kim to professional golf. The Los Angeles native, who is now 39 years old, was one of the most promising players in the world and had a meteoric rise in the golf world with three PGA Tour victories before the age of 25. He was also one of the stalwarts of the U.S. team that won the 2008 Ryder Cup at Valhalla. However, A.K. never reached his potential and today we know why, and it is not only due to injuries.
When he was at his best (he reached No. 6 in the world rankings and excelled in the Majors), numerous physical problems began to emerge that affected his performance, and it was a torn Achilles tendon during the 2012 Wells Fargo Championship, from which he later underwent surgery, that led to his sudden retirement. There was more to it than that, and it was something he had been carrying since his pre-professional days. In any case, after that Achilles injury he decided to retire and began to collect a $10 million policy from his insurance.
Kim, who played on the PGA Tour between 2007 and 2011, said in a documentary that he had mental health and addiction problems. Today the player has told quite a few details through his social networks. A.K. even shares a photo of the many pills he had to take daily to safely stop using narcotics. He confessed to contemplating suicide “every day for almost two decades, even while playing on the PGA Tour”, he reveals, as well as using drugs to “numb the pain”.
Kim also details: “I got so good at hiding it that I lost my identity. It’s very hard to play majors and make stops to go to the bathroom every few holes,” he says. The golfer also expresses his gratitude to his loved ones for their support. “In rehab I found faith, self-love, respect and purpose,” he says. “I’m not proud of who I was, but I am proud of who I am today. One of the many things I realised is how grateful we should all be for what we have now and spend time with true friends, because tomorrow is not guaranteed.”
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