Few partnerships on LIV Golf run as deep as the one between Phil Mickelson and Anthony Kim. Over the past year, Mickelson has publicly championed Kim’s comeback from addiction and a 12-year absence from the game. Now, with Lefty’s own struggle out in the open, Kim has chosen to return the favor.
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Over TMZ’s headline on his Instagram story, Kim wrote, “Since this story is makin its rounds, I felt compelled 2 say as some1 who has struggled & quite honestly will always struggle w things in my private life, I will support & pray 4 any1 tryin 2 do better in their life & their families. @philmickelson Lessgo 🙏”
The message holds real significance as Kim and Mickelson have shared a bond for nearly two decades. It began when Mickelson took the 23-year-old Kim under his wing on the PGA Tour, and it stayed strong through Kim’s long exile from the game. When he returned with LIV Golf, he found Mickelson in his corner as a teammate and one of his loudest supporters.
The note came right after TMZ Sports reported that Mickelson had voluntarily checked himself into an addiction treatment center. His representative said he sought help for family trauma and addiction, and has since confirmed that he has completed his stay and left the facility. Further details, including when he entered treatment, how long he stayed, and which program he attended, have not been disclosed.
This follows news from February 2026, when Mickelson cited a family health matter involving himself and his wife to skip the start of the LIV season. He then played just one event, finishing T48 in South Africa, before pulling out of the Masters in April. He ended up missing all four majors for the first time in his career.
Kim was among the first to react to Mickelson’s absence. He wrote on X that there “was nothing more important in life than your family,” adding that he was praying for Phil, his wife Amy, and the family. He had also insisted that “1% better sober is dope,” and that support continues now. That support carries weight, as Kim has publicly spoken about his own battle with addiction and a dark stretch away from golf, calling his sobriety the best accomplishment of his life.
Their bond goes back to when Kim was still a young star trying to cope with early success. During the 2009 Presidents Cup, for instance, Kim was in a visible funk, and it was Mickelson who knocked on his hotel door for a private heart-to-heart conversation. Kim has often said that Mickelson never abandoned him after that. After Kim was relegated from LIV at the end of 2025, Mickelson continued to back him publicly, reposting Kim’s comeback process with a note saying it “was so great to see.”
Mickelson has also shown that warmth publicly. When Kim earned his way back onto LIV for the new season, Mickelson wrote, “AK gets his life back, and now his golf game is back.”
After Kim’s emotional win over Jon Rahm and Bryson DeChambeau in Australia, Mickelson called it “one of the best stories in sport,” adding that Kim deserved a shot at the majors too.
Notably, none of LIV’s other players have publicly addressed Mickelson’s news or offered sympathy, leaving Kim’s message as the only show of support from inside the league. The silence also comes at a tense time, with LIV working through bankruptcy restructuring and its 2027 roster uncertain.
For now, Mickelson has completed treatment, but his return to competition remains unclear.