"I don't think anyone else did" - Dustin Johnson opens up on AK's LIV Golf win

Dustin Johnson says few people believed in Anthony Kim before he stormed to an unlikely victory at LIV Golf Adelaide. 

An overwhelmed Kim, 40, claimed his first professional win in more than a decade in Australia on 15 February by reeling in Jon Rahm and Bryson DeChambeau. 

It was the first time the American had stepped into the winner's circle since he disappeared from the sport in 2012 after suffering a string of injuries. 

His life spiralled downward, with the golfer claiming he fell victim to "scam artists" and "snakes" during his absence from the sport. 

The former US Ryder Cup star also revealed he thought about ending his life and was even told by doctors before his comeback that he had months to live. 

Kim, who joined LIV Golf as a wildcard in 2024 and recently became part of Dustin Johnson's 4 Aces team after Patrick Reed followed Brooks Koepka out the door, told reporters in the immediate aftermath of victory that he never once doubted he'd win again. 

And now Johnson, who doused Kim with fizzy water on the 18th green when he rolled in his final putt, has opened up on what was going through his mind at the time. 

"I know all the hard work he's put in," Johnson said ahead of LIV's stop in Hong Kong. "I know all the things he's been through. 

"To see him come out on the other side of it, especially, too, playing in the last group with Bryson and Jon, and to go out and play that round of golf was really special.

"And to get it done on Sunday with those guys and finish it off with a win was ... maybe other than me and maybe him and the guys on our team that believed in him, I don't think anyone else did."

Johnson added: "I think it was just a really special day, and obviously for him, with all the hard work that he's put into the game over the last couple years, I know he was talking about when it kind of clicked for him. 

"To me, watching him go through the Promotions event, knowing that he had to play well or he wasn't going to have a place to play, playing well in that event, finishing in the top three, because that was really the only choice you had, that to me was where it kind of clicked where, okay, I think AK has got his game back. 

"With that kind of pressure, performing with that kind of pressure, and obviously coming out in the first event, he played solid.

"It was a really special moment. I think it was great for the game of golf. It was great for LIV. Obviously it was great for our team, the Aces, and most importantly, it was great for him and his family."

For his part, Kim said watching his daughter run onto the green was the "pinnacle" of his career.

"When she ran out on to that green, that was, selfishly, one of the most special moments of my life," he said. 

"When I used to putt for five or six hours on the green at the club I belonged to, they sent me a letter to get off the green and not practice as much, but that was always in the back of my mind.

"I've seen other players' families run on to the green. That was my goal. I'm a recovering addict, but now I think I'm addicted to making that happen again. 

"There's nothing that's going to stop me from working to get to that point."