Anthony Kim has spoken about falling victim to “scam artists” and “snakes” as he prepares to compete in the United States for the first time since 2012.
Kim, 38, withdrew after the first round of what is now called the Wells Fargo Championship in May 2012 and did not play in another professional event until last month’s LIV Golf event in Jeddah.
Kim finished last by 11 shots in Saudi Arabia and 50th in the 54-man field in Hong Kong, before missing the cut in an International Series event in Macau.
Ahead of this week’s LIV Golf event in Miami, the former Ryder Cup player spoke of some “very dark moments” after dealing with addiction and numerous surgeries.
“I’m not going to lie, I was around some bad people,” Kim said in an interview with LIV broadcaster David Feherty.
“People that took advantage of me. Scam artists. And when you’re 24 or 25, even 30 years old, you don’t realise the snakes that are living under your roof.”
Kim said he has removed “98 per cent” of the people who were around him at that time from his life and revealed that when he was playing he “had no self-worth”.
“Until I became a father, I really didn’t feel that. Now I have a duty,” he said.
“I have a responsibility of taking care of my family and being the best role model I can be. That gives me a purpose every morning and I just didn’t have that before.
“I have an interesting relationship with golf. I don’t think I ever loved it. What’s very weird to me right now is that I’m falling in love with the game.
“That’s such a weird spot for me because golf was filled with pressure and lots of different emotions for me because my family had to go through a lot to give me this opportunity to play golf.
“With that added pressure I was willing to risk a lot more. That was my nature. I was aggressive on the course and I was aggressive off the golf course. And that led to my demise.”
As for the eight-figure insurance policy which he was often reported to have cashed in when he unofficially retired, Kim said he was “not at liberty” to discuss it.
“I know public perception is that I took this money and ran and decided I was just going to hang out,” he said. “That wasn’t the case at all.
“I had multiple, multiple surgeries in a few years. And my body is still not what it used to be.”
