Anthony Kim shoots 6-over in pro return, last at LIV event - ESPN

After a nearly 12-year hiatus from professional golf, Anthony Kim's return went about as well as one could have expected in the first round of LIV Golf Jeddah in Saudi Arabia on Friday.

Kim, who last played on the PGA Tour at the 2012 Wells Fargo Championship before he walked away from golf after a series of injuries, was last in the 54-man field after carding a 6-over 76.

«Obviously disappointed with the score, but I played much better than the score,» Kim told reporters after the round. «I've got a lot to build on. Just made a lot of unforced errors and that was unfortunate, but I feel like I'm not that far away.»

Kim was 14 strokes behind co-leaders Adrian Meronk and Jon Rahm, who led the way in the individual competition after posting 8-under 62s at Royal Greens Golf and Country Club at King Abdullah Economic City.

The 38-year-old Kim is competing as a wild card, meaning his scores won't count in the team competition. He was one of eight players in the field to post a score above par.

«I would be lying to say that I didn't have certain expectations,» Kim said. «At least even if I played [badly], I thought I would shoot around par. It was unfortunate that I made so many unforced errors from the middle of the fairway. That's generally my strength is my iron game. To make so many unforced errors is really disappointing.»

Rahm's Legion XIII squad, which includes England's Tyrrell Hatton, former University of Tennessee star Caleb Surratt and Zimbabwe's Kieran Vincent, led the team competition with a total of 17 under, 1 stroke better than captain Louis Oosthuizen's Stinger GC team.

Beginning on No. 18 in LIV Golf's shotgun-start format, Kim's round got off to an inauspicious start with a bogey on the par-5, 607-yard hole.