Anthony Kim Reveals He Returned to Golf Just Months Before Signing LIV Contract

It's safe to say that Anthony Kim's return to golf came about rather abruptly.

The Journey Back is an in-house LIV Golf documentary with David Feherty that is available on the LIV Golf Plus app and website and delves into Kim's decision to return to competitive golf.

Jay Busbee of Yahoo Sports noted Tuesday that Kim revealed he didn't start playing golf again until approximately three months ago when he began to teach his wife. However, LIV Golf CEO Greg Norman called him, which started the process of entertaining a comeback.

There was a time when Kim was a marquee name in the golf world.

He set the record for birdies in a single round at the Masters with 11 in the second round of the 2009 tournament. He finished in third place in the 2010 Masters and notched two top-10 finishes at The Open Championship.

Kim also won three times on the PGA Tour and seemed well on his way to a long career.

However, as Busbee noted, he withdrew from the 2012 Wells Fargo, underwent Achilles surgery and didn't play again competitively until he decided to join LIV Golf. The documentary revealed he underwent multiple surgeries, including a spinal fusion, when he was away from the game.

"I had battles mentally that I never talked about to anybody and kept to myself," he said. "I started to turn my life around about a year and a half ago."

Mark Schlabach of ESPN noted Kim also said he has an "addictive personality" and knew he "needed help for a long time."

While the documentary doesn't go into specific details about some of those "battles," Kim said: "I was around some bad people. People that took advantage of me. Scam artists. When you're 24, 25, even 30 years old, you don't realize the snakes that are living under your roof."

Yet he credited his wife and daughter for helping him turn things around and even said he feels differently about the game at this point.

"I have an interesting relationship with golf," Kim said. "I don't think I ever loved it. What's weird now is that I'm falling in love with the game."

Kim, 38, finished in last place in his first tournament back last month in Saudi Arabia. Still, it was his first competitive appearance in 12 years, and he showed improvement during a four-over 74 in the final round.

He also competed in the tournament in Hong Kong and ended up in 50th place with a score of three over. That was a significant jump from his overall score of 16 over in his first event, and he even shot five under in the final round.

More improvement could come as he reacquaints himself with the game he was absent from for so many years.