Los Angeles - Anthony Kim, who burst onto the PGA Tour in 2007 with five top-10 finishes, will miss the next four to five months as he undergoes treatment for tendinitis and elbow pain, the American said on Monday.
Kim, who has made only two cuts this year and has withdrawn from his past three tournaments, is hoping the time off will help get his career back on track.
“That will be my focus for the next four or five months so I'm in a position to return healthy towards the end of the year and be fully ready for 2013,” Kim, 26, said in a statement.
Kim is suffering from tendinitis in his left forearm and pain in his right elbow after hitting a rock while playing out of the rough in last month's Texas Open.
It is not the first time an injury has interrupted Kim's career. He finished third at the 2010 Masters but missed three months later that year after having surgery on his left thumb because of a torn ligament.
Kim, who ranks 215th on the money list with just over $33 000 in earnings this year, captured the first of his three tour victories in 2008 when he also qualified for the victorious US Ryder Cup team.
His last victory was at the 2010 Houston Open and while Kim played a key role in the 2008 US Ryder Cup victory, he failed to qualify for the 2010 losing side. - Reuters