Go Anthony Kim

by Jeremy Sandler | Canada.com

OAKVILLE, Ont. — If Anthony Kim wanted to deliver a shot that would sum up where he is in the golf world right now, he succeeded on the 16th hole of Wednesday’s pro-am event at the RBC Canadian Open at Glen Abbey.

Kim’s 12-foot birdie putt rolled up the slight incline toward the centre of the cup before stopping at the lip, leaving Kim with a tap-in for par.

Kim himself was on the cusp on the eve of his second appearance at the Canadian Open.

“He’s a dedicated kid,” tournament director Bill Paul said. “I think he’s going to be the next superstar of the PGA Tour.”

Since Tiger Woods moved from hype to legend — and since Phil Mickelson, to some eyes at least, surfaced as a worthy foil at the top of golf’s pyramid — the Tour, the television networks and golf fans have been searching for an heir apparent, someone to continue the line that ran from Woods to Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer and more.

Spain’s Sergio Garcia and Australian Adam Scott were seen as the next ones for a time. But with both closing in on 30, and without a major championship between them, it appears to have been misplaced hope.

Now the 24-year-old Kim, Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy and Japan’s Ryo Ishikawa are the most touted to pick up the torch.

“You know what, I really don’t even hear it,” Kim said about being golf’s next one. “My buddies will joke around and tell me that I need to get on my game and beat them, and I’m on my own schedule.”

That was certainly the case during Kim’s hard-partying rookie season of 2007, when he had four top-10 finishes to go along with off-course habits that led fellow golfers to dub him Grey Goose, after the premium French vodka.

A heart-to-heart talk with Mark O’Meara — the PGA player of the year in 1998, when he won the British Open and the Masters, and Woods confidant, helped change Kim’s ways.

“He learned a lot from his rookie year on tour,” said Chris Armstrong, Kim’s Canadian agent. “He learned a lot from other guys on tour, what it would take to be successful. We certainly saw the results last year.”

Kim won the Wachovia Championship last year at age 22 to become the Tour’s youngest champion since Garcia in 2002. He later won the AT&T National. He also was the youngest member of the victorious U.S. Ryder Cup team, for which he delivered a key 5-and-4 win over Garcia in the first match of singles play on the final day.

That set the stage for what many thought would be a breakthrough 2009 season, but injuries have marred Kim’s year.

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The Desert Sun

At the 2008 AT&T National hosted by Tiger Woods, La Quinta’s Anthony Kim earned his second PGA Tour victory and received a congratulatory call from Woods who missed the event with an injured knee.

On Sunday, Kim didn’t need a phone to stay in contact with Woods. The two were in the final pairing, and Kim got an up-close look at the difference a year can make.

Woods lived up to his hopes of being a “greedy host” Sunday, leaving Kim in his wake to take a one-stroke victory over Hunter Mahan. Kim finished third, four strokes behind Woods.

Kim lost four shots in four holes on the front nine, and didn’t make a birdie on the back nine.

“I had a lot of fun,” said Kim, who idolized Woods growing up. “I know I’ll be knocking on the door again. It’s only a matter of time. I learned if you have a birdie putt, you better make it.”

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ANTHONY KIM: The golf course played a little bit tougher in my opinion. Obviously I didn’t drive it the way I wanted to and like I did yesterday. So hitting out of the trees, there’s not going to be as much spin. So it was a rough day, but I’m glad I got through it, and now I have to go work on it and see what I can figure out.

Q. Obviously your physical presence has changed. You have a trainer now with you full-time. Could you explain the background and what you guys have been working on?

ANTHONY KIM: Well, we’re just working on my balance. That’s huge in golf. Even though it’s just a couple shots you have every day on TOUR, you’re going to have knock-down shots, and we want to be ready for those. I think power is something that I’ve lost in the last six, seven months, especially with not being able to work out and not hitting as many balls. So we’re working on a lot of different things.

Q. I think you mentioned your thumb yesterday was the injury that hurt you the most. How did you hurt it, and is that something that still comes up?

ANTHONY KIM: It’s not 100 percent healed, but it’s as close as it’s going to get for a while until I rest it. So I think next week I’ll have a good week off before the British and just try to chip and putt and get ready that way. The finger feels pretty good, and hopefully I can just maintain it through the next two days, and I should be fine. It’s the left thumb.

Q. How did you hurt it?

ANTHONY KIM: I don’t know. I think it could have happened from any different thing. But I was hitting a golf shot out of the rough and it felt like it pulled, but something happened before that, so I’m not quite sure.

Q. After 11, how did you control your emotions from there? Were you on the brink of getting a little bit emotional?

ANTHONY KIM: Well, after 11 I was pretty frustrated with myself, but I’m out here to have a better attitude. I know I played a fantastic round yesterday. I just look at it as it’s never as bad as it seems. When you’re playing bad, you think it’s way worse than it is, and I tried to keep that attitude and said, look, we’ve got seven more holes. I’m not swinging my best right now, so I can’t add onto it by moaning about a bad swing here and a bad swing there and just keep a positive attitude and try to make a couple par putts.

Q. Would you maybe have handled that differently in the past?

ANTHONY KIM: Absolutely. I might not have had a driver for very much longer.

Q. Did the difference in start times between Tiger and you make any difference in your round?

ANTHONY KIM: No. I mean, I know he played in the morning, but I’m not out here to watch Tiger. I didn’t pay $30 to come out. I know he’s obviously the best player in the world. We’re all out here trying to beat everyone’s brains out, whether it’s Tiger or Jim or Davis. I had my hands full with my game, so I wasn’t too worried about what he was doing.

Q. Did you notice a big difference in the galleries this year compared to last year? Do you notice things like that?

ANTHONY KIM: I do. I feed off the fans. They’ve been great. It’s been special to come out here and feel that warmth that I’ve been feeling from the fans. It can only help you. Even when you’re having a bad hole, like you said, on 11, I can hold my head up high or I can drop my head. They pushed me forward. I’m lucky to be at 8-under right now and have a chance going into the weekend.

Q. You said it’s never as bad as it seems. To just be two off the leader on this course, that’s not a bad place to be at all.

ANTHONY KIM: No, this year I’ve actually just barely been making cuts, so I was happy to be in the position I was in. Obviously the first six, seven holes I was trying to move forward and putt well and maybe get it to 12, 13, 14-under par, but once the swing went away, I had to just focus on getting up-and-down and making some pars out there.

Q. You said after a couple holes your swing kind of got away from you. Is there a swing thought that you use or any kind of keys you do to try to get it back in mid-round?

ANTHONY KIM: Yeah, I just try to make sure I open the club. My problem is I keep the club closed right off the start. So I tried to open it, and unfortunately didn’t do a very good job of figuring my swing out.

Golf isn’t about how you hit the ball but how you get the ball in the hole. I think I did a pretty good job the last three holes.

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by Kelli Tolocka / Examiner.com

Anthony Kim set a course record during the first round at the AT&T National tournament. He shot a 62…8 under par to set the early pace and prove that he is ready to defend his title. Tiger lovers shouldn’t be worried though. Woods is hot on his heels shooting a 64 where he shares second place with Bryce Molder and D.A. Points.

Kim has not won a tournament since last year’s victory in the AT&T National Tournament. He has been plagued by a left thumb issue that had more than one doctor recommending he take 4 to 6 weeks away from the game. Kim refused to take the advice and decided to play in the tournament anyway.

“I can’t help myself. I’ve got to come out here,” Kim said on Thursday. “This has been a dream of mine to play on the PGA Tour, and I wasn’t going to sit. … I’m out here to get better. There’s something that I can get better at every time I step out onto the golf course. … I’m sure those doctors are a lot smarter than I am. But … athletes and pros play through pain and play through injuries. There was no doubt in my mind I was going to come out here, learn something along the way and keep grinding away.”

The decision to play through the pain has paid off so far. Kim birdied 8 out of his last 13 holes and is currently two shots ahead of Tiger Woods. Woods missed only two fairways and three greens, shooting his lowest round since the 2007 Tour Championship.

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