Anthony Kim completed one of golf’s most incredible comeback stories, while the all-Australian Ripper GC were also victorious at LIV Golf’s Adelaide event at The Grange on Sunday.
Kim fired a bogey free nine-under par final round of 63 to claim his first professional victory in 16 years, having spent more than a decade in the golf wilderness due to injury and drug and alcohol abuse.
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Kim, who returned to professional golf with LIV in 2024, was swarmed by almost every one of his LIV colleagues on the 18th green after tapping in the winning putt.
The 40-year-old finished 23-under par across the four rounds, three shots clear of former world No.1 Jon Rahm, who started the day in a share of the lead alongside Bryson DeChambeau.
“It is one of the greatest comeback stories in any sport in history,” commentator Arlo White said after Kim celebrated and was showered in “fizzy drink”.
Asked in the moments immediately after clinching victory about how he was able to maintain his belief to comeback, Kim simply replied: “My family”.
“I don’t really know what to say. It’s overwhelming, but I’m never not going to fight,” he continued.
“Nobody else has to believe in me, but me. For anyone else who’s struggling, you can get through anything.
“I knew this was coming, but for it to actually happen is pretty insane.
“And I just want to thank all the people who, when I was not playing well and I was struggling and on the verge of never coming back to live. Always supported me.
“To everyone that’s been in my corner. I’m going to keep doing it.”
The golf world was quick to rally around Kim after his incredible victory, reflecting both on the long journey he had taken to get to this point and the emotional lesson behind his comeback.
Kim became an instant fan favourite in Adelaide crowd as the crowd got behind his Hollywood-like victory.
He appreciated the support, and revealed that he almost did not come to Australia at all.
“I didn’t get tired today. I had trouble getting in here with visa issues. But hopefully with the love they’ve shown, I can get back in easily,” he said.
Kim surged past his player partners Rahm and DeChambeau as the Spaniard failed to catch alight, shooting a one under par 71, while DeChambeau slipped out contention with four bogeys in his first seven holes on his way to a 74.
The crowd that gathered to see two of LIV’s biggest names battle it out were quickly absorbed by Kim’s incredible surge.
Kim made birdies at four, five, seven and nine to reach the turn in 32, but it was on the back nine where he found another gear.
A quartet of birdies from holes 12 to 15 were met with increasingly bigger celebrations as each putt dropped.
The flurry left Kim three shots clear of Rahm with three holes to play, meaning he only had to hold his nerve to claim his first LIV title.
Rahm responded with a birdie on 16, but Kim landed the killer blow with his ninth birdie of the day at the penultimate hole.
He then embraced the adulation down the last fairway, sticking a wedge pin high to ensure there would be no late drama.
Kim will now benefit enormously for LIV events now boasting world ranking points for the top ten finishers.
Currently sitting at No.847 in the world, the former world No.6 will certainly receive quite the rankings boost of the back of his victory.
Kim was one of the hottest commodities on the PGA Tour during the late 2000s, winning three events as well as representing the United States in both the Ryder Cup and the Presidents Cup.
But Kim disappeared from the public eye in 2012 when an Achilles injury coupled with issues with drug and alcohol abuse brought a close to his time on the PGA Tour.
For many years, Kim was almost a mythical figure with social media occasionally getting excited over rare sightings that would spark rumours of a comeback.
That came to fruition with LIV in 2024.
Kim entered the league as a wildcard, but struggled.
Across 2024 and 2025, he never finished better than a tie for 25th in any of the 23 tournaments he teed it up in.
At the end of last year, he was relegated as a result of finishing second last in the individual standings.
But Kim clawed his way back onto the circuit by coming third at the LIV Golf Promotions event in January, and he joined Dustin Johnson’s 4 Aces GC.
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In the teams event, Australians Cameron Smith, Lucas Herbert, Marc Leishman and Elvis Smylie combined for 15-under for the day to claim a second Adelaide team title for Ripper GC.
The all-Australian team finished two shots clear of Rahm’s Legion XIII at 55-under, courtesy of birdies from Smith and Herbert on their second last hole and despite the pair missing short birdie putts at the last.
Leishman was the best of the quartet in the final round, however, firing a bogey free seven-under par 65 to climb into a share of eighth in the individual standings.
Smith joined his great mate Leishman at -15 as he signed off with a 70.
Meanwhile, Herbert was the best of the locals on the individual leaderboard, ending the tournament in a share of sixth at 16-under after his final round of 69.
Smylie, last week’s individual winner in Saudi Arabia, chipped in with a round of 69 on his way to tied 27th at nine-under overall.
Having also won the team’s component in Riyadh, the Australians are two from two to start the year.
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