What To Expect From Anthony Kim's Second LIV Golf Start In Hong Kong

Anthony Kim makes his second start in almost 12 years this week after his return in Jeddah saw the American finish in last place at 16-over-par.

Kim carded rounds of 76, 76 and 74 in Saudi Arabia, where he ended 11 strokes behind second-last and 33 shots off the leader. He called it "a rough week" but said he hopes to be in contention at some point this year.

There were positives to take, however, particularly in the final two rounds. He was one-over for his last 14 holes in round two and played the final 13 holes on Sunday in level par.

Kim may well end up bottom of the pile again this week, and the possibility of him winning an event on the circuit this year seems unrealistic when you consider his first outing.

His return in Jeddah highlighted the fact that LIV Golf has a supremely strong roster right now, with Joaquin Niemann in the form of his life and Major winners like Jon Rahm, Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka, Bryson DeChambeau and Cameron Smith all in the field.

If the names mentioned above get hot, they can easily shoot 15-under-par for three rounds. Kim, on the other hand, will likely be happy with three rounds of level par with where his match-sharpness is.

'AK', as he seems to be exclusively known by the LIV Golf broadcast team, has been away from the top level for nearly 12 years while most of the players he's competing against have been grinding and striking golf balls day-in, day-out. For him to realistically challenge Niemann, Rahm and co. right now seems a stretch too far.

Based on last week's showing, finishing inside the top-24 of the rankings this year also seems like it could be out of reach, meaning he may be without a team for the 2025 season and risk losing his place on LIV Golf.

So, what should his target be this week, and for the remainder of the season?

Anything better than last place in Hong Kong could be deemed a success, while a top-30 finish would be seriously impressive considering his time away from the game. He'll be looking to make fewer bogeys after 16 dropped shots and two doubles in Jeddah last week, while he'll be hoping for more birdies after just four over the course of three rounds at Royal Greens in his return.

More birdies, fewer dropped shots and a finish a few spots higher up the 'pylon' would be a real positive showing in what looks to be a game of baby-steps right now. 

If he can continue to improve and get comfortable competing with some of the world's best again, he'll find himself in a good spot at the end of the season, which could set up a strong 2025.

Kim's return to LIV Golf has been labelled a 'gimmick' by some for two reasons. One, to merely to increase viewership of the league and two, because he wouldn't have been able to return to the PGA Tour due to eligibility and the funds he'd have needed to clear his reported insurance issue, plus he'd likely be missing cut after cut simply without his match-sharpness.

If he continues finishing well down the pack, which does seem likely, people will get bored of watching him fast. But that's not necessarily a bad thing. A quiet next five or six events where he can continue to improve in the background without the worry of missing cuts and losing thousands of dollars is just what he needs.

Give him another seven, eight, nine tournaments and he might just surprise us. Expecting him to feature at the top of the leaderboards isn't feasible right now so let's judge his return at the end of the year.