Anthony Kim set for a sensational return to the professional ranks at LIV Golf Jeddah

LIV Golf comes to the Middle East for the first time in 2024 with the 54-hole $25 million LIV Golf – Jeddah in Saudi Arabia where a sensational story is in the making at Royal Greens Golf & Country Club.

The winner is in line for a $4m payday while the 54th finishers will receive $50,000. The team prize money payout is $3 million.

Dubai-based players Anirban Lahiri from India and Poland’s Adrian Meronk will play in their Crushers GC and Cleeks GC teams respectively, but the big newsmaker is an almost forgotten golfer.

Thirty-eight-year-old Anthony Kim from the US will make his first professional appearance after a 12-year absence from the game. The three-time winner on the PGA Tour was also a star of the winning US Team in the 2008 Ryder Cup at Valhalla Golf Club, Kentucky, US.

He quit in 2012 after a series of injuries and his retirement was the subject of a widely reported insurance claim.

It is understood that Kim will take one of the two wildcard spots in the 54-player field – but will not be a member of one of the LIV Golf 13 official teams.

It will be interesting to see if he can make an impact on the LIV Golf Tour.

It will be an interesting watch and the question is, has he played enough golf? Kim certainly had huge natural talent, with highlights outside of his wins and The Ryder Cup – being a third-place finish at The Masters in 2010 and a tied fifth in The Open a year later.

He has been missing and missed from the game. Only time will tell what a 12-year sabbatical will have done to Kim’s game.

This is the third of 14 LIV Golf events of the season following Mayakoba in Mexico and Las Vegas in the US.

The Crushers GC have finished second and fourth in the opening team events and are in second place in the overall Team Standings so far this season.

Meronk struggled with illness in event one but finished a strongly tied ninth in event two and lies tied 20th in the Individual Standings with Lahiri tied 31st.

There will be shotgun starts for each of the three rounds at 11.15 am for the first two days and 11.05 am for the final round.

Five-time Major winner Brooks Koepka will be the favourite, having won the individual trophy at LIV Golf – Jeddah in both 2022 and 2023.

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Fireballs Golf Club are the defending champions in the team event.

Khaleej Times will be providing behind-the-scenes content of the week from Saudi.

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