Those closest to Anthony Kim knew his secret all along

Four weeks ago, on the way to Palm Springs for the American Express, Adam Schriber stopped his RV in Oklahoma City to see an old friend, who let him in on a secret.

“It’s going to happen,” Anthony Kim told him, according to Schriber. “My best golf is in front of me. You watch, it’s good. It’s just taking some time to get my confidence back.”

Fast forward to Sunday in Australia, and it happened.

Schriber watched from 7,000-plus miles away while lounging in his RV on the Monterey Peninsula on Saturday night, where the golf instructor is on-site for this week’s AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. He streamed the action and received constant text updates from his son. Across the globe at LIV Golf Adelaide, his former student was putting the finishing touches on an epic final-round comeback to put an exclamation mark on a remarkable redemption story, one that many people never thought would come — except for Kim and those close to him.

Kim fired a nine-under 63 to finish 23 under overall, beating major stalwarts Jon Rahm (20 under) and Bryson DeChambeau (17 under), who were tied for the lead entering the final day.

“I know I can make a lot of birdies,” Kim said. “I know my self-belief is second to none. Obviously taking 12 1/2 years off the game is a long time, and you have to build that confidence back. So I guess from when I was in my 20s, I was never scared to play anybody. I’m not scared to play anybody now. I know this is just one golf tournament, but I believe in myself. That will never change.”

Schriber taught Kim from his days as a promising 14-year-old junior up until he stepped away from the game. While Kim is officially with Matt Killen now, he still stays in touch with Schriber; they consider each other family. They talk or text often, and a lot of what Kim incorporates on the course now are concepts he worked on with Schriber, whose current pros include reigning U.S. Open champ J.J. Spaun and Denny McCarthy, among others.

“He is just a phenomenal athlete that defaulted to golf because it fit him, and we are lucky to have him in the sport,” said Schriber, speaking Sunday from the Pacific Coast Highway on his way from Pebble Beach to next week’s stop at Riviera in Los Angeles. “He’s a special talent, man. I have been around him a lot and he has all the tools, but most of all he gave himself the permission to fail.”

Kim was a good story when he returned to pro golf in 2024 after more than a decade away, but he didn’t have the immediate success that made him a star years earlier. Now 40 and playing as a LIV wild card, he was relegated after the 2025 season but reclaimed a spot when he finished third at the LIV Promotions event in January, which handed out 2026 season memberships for the top-three finishers. Then, after Patrick Reed left LIV weeks before the season-opener, Kim took his spot on the 4Aces.

Making his team debut at Adelaide, it seemed unlikely Kim would win Sunday morning. All eyes were on the heavyweight battle between DeChambeau and Rahm, who entered the day tied at 19 under. Kim, five back and 14 under, was in the final group with them, but he seemed to be more of a spectator. Or so most thought.

Kim didn’t make a bogey and was four under at the turn, just one back of Rahm. DeChambeau made four front-nine bogeys and got left behind.

Kim birdied 12 to tie Rahm and got hot from there — making three more to reel off four straight and take a commanding lead. He added his final birdie on 17 and had a stress-free 18th hole as he finished off a three-stroke win.

“Bryson and Jon have proven themselves as major championship-caliber winners, Ryder Cup players, and have consistently played well for a long time, so I have a tremendous amount of respect for them,” Kim said. “I knew it was going to be an uphill battle today, and I got putts to go my way.”

Before his 2024 return, Kim’s last start was as a 26-year-old at the 2012 Wells Fargo Championship (and his last win was the 2010 Shell Houston Open).

Schriber says he always thought Kim could win again, it just depended on how badly Kim wanted it. As Schriber says, he just needed to commit and get sharp.

Schriber is among a small group of people in Kim’s tight-knit circle, a group that also found some satisfaction in Kim’s win on Sunday. Their relationship is about more than just golf. Schriber still remembers, back more than 20 years ago, when he was having a hard time going through a divorce. Kim called him every day just to check in.

“My buddies would forget what I was going through, but this 15-year-old kid was checking up on my all the time. That’s special, man,” Schriber says. “We’ve always been there for each other when that guy’s down. And that’s how you know who your true friends are. Everybody’s there when things are going good, but only the people who are real are there for you when s— hits the fan. We have that in common.”

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