Anthony Kim welcomes back to golf after 12 years. He trails Lamb by 14 points.

Anthony Kim welcomes back to golf after 12 years. He trails Lamb by 14 points.

FILE – Anthony Kim looks down at his tee shot on the fourth hole during the final round of the Greenbrier Classic PGA golf tournament at Greenbrier Stadium in White Sulfur Springs, West Virginia. Virginia, July 31, 2011 LIV Golf Commissioner Greg Norman announced that Kim will play at LIV in Saudi Arabia this week, ending a 12-year hiatus from golf. (AP Photo/Steve Herber, File)More

Hitting a competitive shot for the first time in 4,320 days, he hit more than he could have hoped for at LIV Golf Jeddah on Friday. He opened with a 6-over 76, but was in last place, 14 strokes behind Masters champions Jon Rahm and Adrian Mellonk. Kim left the PGA Tour after the first round of the Wells Fargo Championship on May 3, 2012 due to injuries and losses. He signed a contract this week to play the remainder of the LIV season. That means he is not a member of any team. “I’d be lying if I said I didn’t have certain expectations. Even if I played poorly, I thought I would shoot at about the same level,” Kim said. “It’s unfortunate that I made a lot of unforced errors from the middle of the fairway. That’s my strength, my iron game. It’s really unfortunate that we make so many unforced errors.

Rahm, also playing in the Saudi-funded league for the first time this year, birdied his final three holes at Royal Greens Golf and Country Club. This gave him 62 points and shared the first round lead with fellow LIV newcomer Melonk.

He had a one-shot lead over the group that included Chile’s Joaquin Niemann, and birdied the final hole to fall behind with a 63. Niemann has already won one LIV Golf event this year and also won the Australian Open title, which was key to earning him an invite to the Masters.

The 38-year-old Californian, a three-time PGA Tour winner, now has a young daughter and is returning to the sport after more than a decade away from golf. Kim Byung-hyun teed off at the par-5 18th hole with a shotgun start and hit his first tee shot into the fairway.

“I’m glad he was able to hit the fairway because it looked very narrow,” Kim said. “I started well, but I made an unforced error on my second pitch. I made too many unforced errors. But we actually played better than the score suggests, so we know we can turn things around quickly.

LIV leaves for Hong Kong next week. Kim will not play in the United States until April 5 at Trump Doral Stadium near Miami. He will be able to accumulate individual points, giving him a chance to become a regular player in LIV in 2025.

Kim was one of eight players to break par in the first round at Royal Greens. Meanwhile, Brooks Koepka, who is fighting for his third consecutive LIV title in Saudi Arabia, had just two birdies in his round of 16.