LIV Golf star Anthony Kim says he was surrounded by 'scammers' and 'snakes' that prompted 12 year absence

LIV Golf star Anthony Kim has opened up about why he was away from golf for 12 years, blaming "scammers" and "snakes".

Kim, 38, made his comeback at a LIV Golf event last month, coming in last out of the 53 players on the course. It was the first time he had played since appearing at the PGA Tour in 2012, with the former world number having previously helped the US to victory in the Ryder Cup four years earlier reports the the Daily Star.

But the California golfer has opened up on his lengthy absence from the sport and just why he fell out of love with the game for so long. Kim told LIV: "I'm not going to lie, I was around some bad people. People that took advantage of me. Scam artists. And when you're 24 or 25, even 30 years old, you don't realise the snakes that are living under your roof."

He also said there was a time when he stayed home all the time with six dogs and two monkeys and just watched TV shows. He stopped talking to almost everyone he knew. He even stopped playing golf for fun. Kim added: "Golf is important to me and not important to me at the same time and I've had some very dark moments.

"I've had some very low moments. I've felt very alone, even when there's a million people around. I needed to get my mind straight and figure out what my purpose was on this planet. "

It was widely reported that Kim had cashed in on an insurance policy worth £8 million ($10m), which would be void if he returned. LIV are claimed to have covered that sum to sign him. "I'm not at liberty to talk about details of the settlement or what happened regarding that," he said.

"I know public opinion is that I took this money and ran and decided I was just going to hang out. But that wasn't the case at all. I had multiple,