Anthony Kim and the transcendence of talent in golf

After a 12-year exile, golf's enigmatic star Anthony Kim might make a comeback - and it is one to look forward

- Meraj Shah

It's no small measure of his brand recall that, after 12 years of a self-imposed exile, Anthony Kim is reportedly being wooed by both the PGA and LIV GolfTours. According to several media reports, both tourneys are trying to coax Kim out of retirement to tee it up at their respective events after he sent feelers that he might be considering a comeback. The level of interest in Kim is astonishing, considering that he hasn't played professional golf in over a decade, and no one really knows how that would turn out.

The impulse to leave the limelight, inscrutable for most - and yet hardly without precedent is an old one. Why Anthony Kim, a 26-year-old golf prodigy who was supposed to be the game's 'next Tiger Woods,' simply walked away from the game in 2012 has befuddled golf fans and Kim's peers alike. Kim wasn't just another player: with near cult status amongst young people, Kim was that rare golf professional whose media visibility transcended the game. Incredibly popular, Kim wore his brashness on his sleeve while playing a game not known for it.

He had the performances to back it up too. The flashy player won his first PGA Tour event as a precocious 22-year-old in 2008 and followed it up with another win a couple of months later. At the 2008 Ryder Cup, Kim took down Sergio Garcia 5&4 and wrapped up the season-his second on tour-with eight top-10 finishes and $4.7 million in winnings.