Mystery surrounds Anthony Kim's sudden withdrawal from the Timberlake
The official story is that Anthony Kim withdrew from this week’s PGA Tour event in Las Vegas because of an injured thumb. But now, with rumours of the 25-year-old’s wild partying and crude
behaviour, the picture becomes a little less clear.
After a strong start to the season, Kim was forced to miss more than three months after injuring his right thumb. The thumb issue seemed to be behind him entering the week, but Kim cited
it as the reason for his sudden withdrawal. There may be more to this story than meets the eye.
It’s curious that Kim would withdraw from the tournament after what appears to be a few nights of hard partying in Las Vegas. Kim was called a “loose cannon” by a dealer at the Bellagio
after being asked to tone down the profanity at a poker game on Monday night, according to the Las Vegas Journal Review. The morning after, DJ Exodus, a Vegas DJ, sent out the following on his Twitter feed:
“Anthony Kim is an animal 115 bottles then to top it off a 25k bottle of Dom, which he showered the dance floor with.”
Dave Haggith, Kim’s agent, was asked whether there was a connection between his client’s late nights and his sudden withdrawal. "The two are completely unrelated," said Haggith. "He was
being boisterous and he was asked to calm down and he was compliant."
The season started out well for Kim with a victory at the Shell Houston Open in April followed by a third-place finish at the Masters one week later. He seemed to be on the verge of having
a breakout season so many have expected of the talented young golfer. But then came the thumb injury, which forced him to miss the U.S. Open and the British Open while wiping out his chances of qualifying for the Ryder Cup, played in Wales earlier this month.
Returning to the tour in August, Kim has played poorly ever since, missing the cut in four of his past six events before coming into the Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospital for Children
Open this week.
This is not the first time that Kim has been called out for his late-night partying. During the last President’s Cup, Robert Allenby, after being soundly beaten by Kim in the singles session,
referred to Kim as the “current John Daly.”
"Maybe we should all take the theory of Anthony Kim," Allenby said after the match. "Get home at 4 o'clock (in the morning) and then go shoot 6 under. Ask his playing partners. Ask his
team. He is the loosest cannon in that team."
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