Anthony Kim is the best story in sports right now.
If you’re unfamiliar, buckle up (pun intended)…
After 12 years away from professional golf, he just showed up at LIV Golf’s biggest event in Australia and chased down Bryson DeChambeau and Jon Rahm to win.
But we have to rewind to fully appreciate this story.
Anthony Kim came up as a young junior in the shadow of Tiger Woods.
And everyone who shows any promise after Tiger gets called “the next Tiger.” A lot of them get crushed under those expectations. (That includes Tiger himself.)
Anthony was young and brash. He won big matches at the Ryder Cup. He won on the PGA Tour multiple times. He wore blinged-out belt buckles. He was electric.
He was also very volatile. We didn’t know it at the time, but he was suffering in a silent addiction to substances.
In 2012 he withdrew from a tournament. Achilles surgery. He would go on to have Rotator cuff and labrum surgery, a spinal fusion. & a hand injury.
And he just disappeared.
He lived around Dallas. Every once in a while (like every few years) we’d get a blurry photo of him somewhere in public. There were rumors about an insurance policy that only paid out if he stayed retired.
Nobody really knew.
The Comeback
Then LIV Golf took a chance on him. From a PR standpoint, it was a brilliant move.
But he struggled at first.
He’s been open about battling addiction and feeling suicidal. The guy was dealing with real demons.
But, here’s a great lesson for my young men out there...
He got married. He had a daughter. He found purpose outside of himself.
They gave him something to live for.
He grinded his way back to relevance. And last night he won the biggest event at LIV in front of his wife and daughter.
Maybe it hits me a little differently because I’ve been through something similar. I battled the same demons. I recovered over 20 years ago. Today I have a wife and two beautiful kids.
Seeing that moment reminded me of one of my favorite quotes from Matt Haig:
Stay alive for the person you will become.
You are more than a bad day or year.
You are a future of multifarious possibility.
You are another self at a future point in time looking back in gratitude that this former you held on.
Not all of us are going to win a golf tournament, but all of us can find purpose. If you haven’t seen it, go watch it.Not just for the golf, but for the reminder that you are more than your worst season.
Education:
My latest YouTube video dives into the History of Salomon and how they’ve infiltrated many sports.
Here’s some of my favorite books if you’re interested in Sports Marketing.
Blessings:
Life is really hard. But, it’s worth sticking around for. Here’s Matt Haig’s quote in full. Share it with anyone who needs to STAY.
Came across this tweet this week from legendary investor & billionaire, Charlie Munger…
I recently reflected on the journey of entrepreneurship. I’ve in no way, “arrived”, but I have reached a worthy milestone this past year. I don’t work with jerks. I wish you the same freedom!
