A quiet breakfast in Riyadh has suddenly turned into a high-stakes waiting game for one of LIV Golf’s most talked-about names. As the 2026 season gathers pace, Anthony Kim finds himself stuck off the course. He will be watching the clock while paperwork threatens to derail his plans. And it could cost him heavily.
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“Latest update won’t hear back till Monday abt my visa. Sux I might miss 1 of my favorite events of the year @livgolfleague AUSTRALIA 🇦🇺 @ least I can enjoy this breakfast in Riyadh,” Kim wrote in his Instagram story.
The American golfer has indicated that he is facing visa issues. A few hours back, he had posted on X about the same. He revealed in the post that he was excited for the Australia event but didn’t apply for a visa. Therefore, the crew’s charter left without him.
After the LIV Golf Riyadh event, Kim, along with others, was supposed to head out to Australia to participate in the LIV Golf Adelaide. However, since he forgot to apply for the visa, he is now stuck. He won’t be hearing until Monday because of the weekend. There’s still some hope left for the American professional, though.
The LIV Golf Adelaide event is scheduled to be held from February 12 to February 15, 2026. Thus, Anthony Kim still has time till Wednesday, February 11, 2026, to get things sorted. It is also likely that the Saudi-backed league would want to hear from him before that to make preparations in case he cannot reach in time to play the event.
As the LIV golfer pointed out, it is his favorite event. But there’s much more on the line than that. If he does not arrive on time, he could potentially face $30 million in losses.
From 2026, LIV’s regular‑season events have switched from their standard 54-hole format to the 72-hole format. Thus, the organization also increased the prize money from $25 million to $30 million per tournament. Of these, the individual purse is $20 million, and the team purse is $10 million.
Assuming Anthony Kim would have won the event and his team had came on the top, he and his team could have won from the pool of $30 million.
At the LIV Golf Riyadh event, he finished T22 after the regulation rounds. He carded rounds of 4-under par, at par, 3-under par, and 6-under par to finish with a score of 13-under par. His last round featured 7 birdies on holes 1, 3, 5, 6, 10, 13, and 15. He also hit a bogey on hole 17.
The visa scare also arrives at a delicate point in Kim’s career as he struggled after LIV Golf relegated him.
Anthony Kim’s road back to LIV Golf
Anthony Kim experienced relegation from LIV Golf after the 2025 season. Because of poor performances, he finished 55th in the standings last year. However, he was able to pull off a dramatic comeback by earning a wildcard spot for 2026. To comply better with the OWGR regulations, LIV Golf increased the number of wild card spots available through LIV Golf Promotions 2026.
The relegated pro staged a comeback by finishing in the top-3 and winning one spot. Even his performance at LIV Golf Promotions was dramatic. He just about advanced to the weekend cut with a last-hole birdie on Friday. But after the four rounds, he finished solo third at 5-under overall. Thanks to the final two rounds of 66-69, he staged a comeback, and finished only behind Richard T. Lee and Bjorn Hellgren.
After winning the spot on the roster, he said that this would make people quit talking “s**t” about him. He even announced that he will be back soon, not only playing LIV Golf events but also winning tournaments.
After fighting his way back from relegation through Promotions, Kim’s 2026 season was always going to be about momentum and opportunity. However, a visa delay threatens to undo that progress before one of LIV Golf’s biggest events even begins.
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