Agent of change: Anthony Kim's win at LIV Golf Adelaide proves rebirth possible through revision

It took Kim more than a decade to return to the game and LIV Golf nearly half as long to create a material moment

For a league that has been trying to buy meaning through $300 million checks to Jon Rahm (or what some believe could be $500 million) and Bryson DeChambeau, LIV Golf found the essence of it without a swoop of a pen on Sunday when Anthony Kim was triumphant over the two aforementioned stars in Adelaide, Australia.

The win represented the completion of a long-efforted comeback for the 40-year-old, who had become a Bigfoot-like figure in the game over the last decade plus. Any picture of Kim posted online swirled the rumor mill as stories of his whereabouts and lore only enlarged the three-time PGA Tour winner's legend.

Admitting to battling alcohol and drug addiction while recovering from multiple injuries and dealing with personal demons during his time away from the professional game, Kim reached the lowest of lows just years after reaching the peak of his powers.

Kim was a U.S. Ryder Cup hero, a major champion in waiting and someone who many believed could carry the torch once Tiger Woods stepped aside.

While grand designs of Kim becoming that heir apparent never materialized, a return inside the ropes did in 2024 when the American agreed to play on LIV Golf as an individual wildcard. Gone were the days of his buzzcut and bedazzled belt buckle; now, memories of the past were replaced by the joys of fatherhood.