Anthony Kim didn’t ask for another chance. He took one. His third-place finish at LIV Golf Promotions earned him what two Wild Card seasons never could: legitimacy.

The 40-year-old clawed through a 72-hole grind at Black Diamond Ranch, firing rounds of 66-69 over the weekend to finish at 5-under. By Sunday evening, Kim had secured one of three Wild Card spots for the 2026 LIV Golf season. And within hours, Phil Mickelson delivered his verdict.

“AK gets his life back, and now his golf game is back. He’s on LIV Golf for 2026. Congratulations! Truly Inspirational,” Lefty wrote on X, his post amassing 283,000 views by Monday morning.

However, Kim’s own words cut sharper.

“This is just the first step, but I’m glad I earned my spot so everybody could quit talking s**t,” he declared post-round. “I’ll be back soon, and I’ll be winning golf tournaments soon.”

That defiance marks a seismic shift. For two seasons, Kim drifted through LIV as a curiosity—a Wild Card recipient whose presence generated more nostalgia than results. He finished 56th in 2024, then slipped to 55th in 2025. Across 23 starts, he never cracked the top 24. Never earned a single point. His best finish—T-25 at Dallas—read more like a footnote than a foundation.

Then came relegation. The Drop Zone swallowed him whole.

But Kim refused to vanish. On Friday, he needed a birdie on the brutal 18th to survive the cut. He buried an 8-footer. On Saturday, he torched the course with a bogey-free 66, vaulting into second place. Sunday’s 69—complete with a clutch 15-foot par save on 14 after bunker trouble—sealed solo third.

“I definitely didn’t have it today,” Kim admitted afterward. “I didn’t have it with my swing. Putted OK but didn’t make a ton. I feel like my game is trending in the right direction, that my bad rounds can still hang in there.”

In 2024, LIV handed Kim a spot. In 2026, he ripped one from the field’s throat.

Mickelson’s praise didn’t materialize from thin air. The two share a history predating LIV by nearly two decades. At the 2008 Ryder Cup at Valhalla, a 23-year-old Kim partnered with Mickelson three times, posting a 1-1-1 record. Lefty was already a major champion. Kim was a kid fresh off two PGA Tour wins.

That bond has endured. After Kim’s relegation in August 2025, Mickelson posted publicly: “You’ve worked really hard and made so much progress. I know you haven’t had the results you wanted, but you have so much to be proud of.”

Three messages over five months. Consistent advocacy, not reactionary applause.

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Phil Mickelson’s HyFlyers GC and the roster question

This raises obvious speculation: Could Mickelson’s support signal something beyond friendship?

HyFlyers GC enters 2026 with a vacancy. Andy Ogletree finished 50th in the 2025 standings—Drop Zone—after battling a wrist injury that demanded surgery. His relegation leaves Mickelson’s squad at three: Lefty, Brendan Steele, and Cameron Tringale.

Teams can sign Wild Cards mid-cycle. Kim now holds that status. The math writes itself. Whether that signing materializes remains uncertain. What’s undeniable: Kim no longer needs charity. He survived Friday’s cut line on a pressure putt. He dominated Saturday. He held on Sunday.

“Three years ago, doctors had told me that I potentially had two weeks to live,” Kim revealed after clinching his spot. “So, just to be here standing in front of you guys is a blessing.”

The blessing arrived because Kim earned it.

When the 2026 LIV Golf season opens under Riyadh’s lights on February 4, Anthony Kim will tee it up as a Wild Card, among others. The question that lingers: lone wolf, or HyFlyers jersey?