Go Anthony Kim

by Peter Stone / The Sydney Morning Herald

AMERICAN Anthony Kim has had to find a last-minute replacement for his caddie in the $2.7 million Johnnie Walker Classic, which starts at The Vines today, courtesy of Australian Immigration authorities.

Kim, the world No.11, played in last week’s Malaysian Open with his regular American caddie Eric Larson, and they both arrived in Perth at 4pm on Monday. It is believed Larson was refused entry for an alleged failure to declare a criminal conviction in the United States.

Asked yesterday why Larson was not with him at The Vines, Kim replied: “He just had to go back home to take care of some personal things, for personal reasons, so he’ll be back on the bag next week [in the $US8m ($12.45m) WGC World Matchplay Championship in Arizona].

Had Larson been refused entry? “I don’t know much about what’s going on,” the 23-year-old said. “He had some things in Florida he needed to take care of.”

A spokesman for the Department of Immigration said: “All people wishing to enter Australia must meet the character requirements, and if immigration officers at the border determine that someone fails those requirements due to incidences of a serious criminal record, the passenger will be refused entry to Australia and will be returned to their country of departure.”

Larson was the long-term caddie for 1989 British Open champion Mark Calcavecchia, but in 1995 he was convicted for his part in a small cocaine ring and served an 11-year jail sentence. Calcavecchia was the only person to visit Larson in all five prisons in which he served his time, and promised to stand by him on his release.

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New Straits Times

WORLD No 11 Anthony Kim may have failed to live up to his favourite’s tag but the Korean-American is well pleased with his Maybank Malaysian Open maiden outing.
In fact, Kim hopes to comeback for another crack at the event.

Kim signed off his outing at the Saujana Golf and Country Club with a bogey-free final round of five-under 67 for a total aggregate of seven-under 281 to tie for 33rd.

However, it would have been a different story if not for his disastrous opening round of 78 where he struggled on the slower greens.

But all credit to him for not giving up.
Kim quickly learnt how to tackle the greens and his second round seven-under 65 helped him make the cut at one-under.

“I am disappointed I didn’t play better this week but all in all, I hung in there tough and that’s really all that I could ask for. I gave it all I had,” said Kim yesterday.

“Nobody wants to finish wherever I did. Everybody wants to win the tournament. I did everything I could. I tried my best but it just did not happen.”

Kim, 24, is considered one of the hottest golfers in the world today and showed this by winning two US PGA Tour titles lat year.

He added: “The heat was not that bad. The weather is fine and the golf course is obviously yielding some good shots. I just did not play well enough or hole enough putts.”

Overall, Kim said, he enjoyed his stay and golf in Malaysia.

“I managed to get into town yesterday (Saturday) and met some wonderful people. I was excited to be here and, hopefully, I can get to come back,” he added.

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The Star

AMERICAN ace Anthony Kim scraped through to the weekend play of the Maybank Malaysian Open with an impressive seven-under 65 at the Saujana Golf and Country Club yesterday.

Kim bounced back with a bogey free score in the morning session to barely make the cut with a one-under 143 total.

But he had to wait until the afternoon session had ended to confirm his fate.

He started on a disastrous note after a miserable six-over 78 in the opening round on Thursday.

The world No. 11, who is the biggest drawcard for the Malaysian Open, is optimistic about bouncing back.

“I’ve done this many times. It’s not my first time being on the cut line of a tournament and I did everything I could to give myself an opportunity to play in the next two days,” said Kim.

Unlike the first round where he struggled on the greens, everything fell into place for the Ryder Cup star as he chalked up a 100% success rate in putting.

“I just tried to hit it five feet by the hole and it was perfect speed every time. So I started thinking that I needed to hit it four or five feet past the hole and, if I can keep putting like this, I’ll be fine,” said Kim.

“I was not too worried about my game. I felt like I was driving the ball good and giving myself 10, 12 footers.

“The 78 yesterday (on Thursday) was probably the worst game I played in two years but it was not due to playing poorly but just scoring terrible.

“I was embarassed with how I scored yesterday (on Thursday) and not making a birdie and not finding my rhythm out there. It was important for me, and my confidence, to come out and play a good round today (yesterday), whether or not I make the cut.”

Having survived the cut in his maiden Malaysian Open outing, Kim is planning to go on the offensive today.

“I’m going to attack the flags, hit as many drivers as I can as there are some holes where you can hit the driver on. The course sets up well for me if I hit the driver well,” said Kim.

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by Tom Callahan / Golf Digest

In 1996, when Tiger Woods declared “Hello World,” and the commercial airwaves echoed with children proclaiming “I’m Tiger Woods” … “I’m Tiger Woods” … “I’m Tiger Woods,” one of them could have been an 11-year-old Korean-American from Los Angeles named Anthony Kim. He was Tiger Woods and had the photograph at 2 with the diaper and the downswing to prove it.

He also had the Pygmalion father, the protective mother, the trophy-laden junior pedigree, the truncated collegiate career, and that distinctive bearing and brag that the other players seemed to recognize first. They always do.

“He’s kind of fearless,” says Ernie Els, who adds wistfully, “Weren’t we all kind of fearless at 23?” Among Kim’s fellow pros, fearless is the consensus description. “Funny” rings a lot of bells, too. “He’s a character,” Mike Weir says. “A funny, funny dude,” says Phil Mickelson.

“What do I think of Anthony?” Jim Furyk mulls over the question. “I really like the guy, to start with. He’s a lot of fun. He’s got a real confident feel about him. Even as a rookie [2007], just the way he handled himself, walking around the locker room. He almost appears cocky, but when he talks to you, he — I don’t see that side of him when he talks to you. He’s just very confident. He has a lot of belief in his ability.”

What does Furyk see on the golf course?

“I just don’t see a lot of weaknesses. I haven’t seen him do anything poorly, and you don’t see a lot of young guys like that get in contention on a tough course like Wachovia [Quail Hollow, 2008] and then just beat the hell out of everyone [by five strokes]. He gets up two, pretty soon it’s three, pretty soon it’s four. You have to have a lot of belief in yourself to do that out here. He’s got a lot, a lot of game.”

And he’s fearless.

“Yeah,” Kim says, “I’ve heard that word a few times. Some have said it to the media when I’m standing right next to them. I don’t know what they’re talking about, to be honest, and I mean that. I’m the same as everyone else. I’m as normal as it gets. Maybe it’s just that golf isn’t as big a deal to me as it is to most people. It’s something I love to do. It’s a talent I was blessed with, that I have confidence in. At the end of the day, I couldn’t care less who I’m playing against. Because I know, if I play my best, I’m not worried about anyone else. My shot. My putt. What that guy over there is doing doesn’t really affect what I do. Whether I win or lose — and trust me, I’m going to kick and claw to try to win — it’s just competition to me. It’s just golf.”

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