CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Knee surgery
prevented Tiger Woods from attempting to defend his Wachovia
Championship title. Anthony Kim didn't disappoint fans at Quail
Hollow Club looking for Tiger-like brilliance.
In a near flawless performance
Sunday, the 22-year-old Kim became the youngest winner on the
PGA Tour in six years. Following monster drives with
flagstick-hitting approach shots and steady putting, Kim shot a
3-under 69 to cruise to five-shot win over Ben Curtis.
The former NCAA freshman of the
year at Oklahoma won't turn 23 until next month. But he
dominated a star-studded field by finishing with a 16-under 272
total, three shots better than the previous tournament record
held by Woods.
"I'm a little bit numb right
now, but that walk up 18 was the best feeling of my entire
life," Kim said. "I'll never forget that feeling. I
had chills going up and down my spine. I want to recreate that
as many times as possible now, so I'm really going to work
hard."
Kim earned $1,134,000 and became
the youngest winner since Sergio Garcia won his third PGA Tour
title in the 2002 Mercedes Championship.
Kim brought memories of Garcia,
but for a different reason, when he strolled to the first tee
Sunday with a four-shot lead and no PGA Tour wins. Garcia blew a
six-shot lead at Quail Hollow in 2005 and lost in a playoff to
Vijay Singh.
"I was actually pretty
comfortable. I thought I'd have a couple more butterflies in my
stomach at the first tee," Kim said. "I felt pretty
calm and confident about my game."
It showed. Kim birdied the first
and fifth holes to pull away from playing partner Heath Slocum,
who shot a 73 and finished at 8 under.
"Anthony played great,"
Slocum said. "From the get-go he put his foot on the gas
and never let off. That was very, very impressive."
Kim made 25- and 20-foot putts
for birdies on the seventh and eighth holes to reach 17 under
for a seven-shot lead as his giant belt buckle reading
"AK" sparkled in the bright sunshine.
Kim's first miscue was on the
par-4 ninth, when his drive landed in a fairway bunker, forcing
him to lay up. He then hit the flagstick with his third shot and
saved par.
Kim's bogey on No. 13 was erased
with birdies on the next two holes. He finished bogey-bogey-par,
pumping his fist as his last putt dropped, as he lapped a field
that included 18 of the world's top 25 players.
"I knew my life was changing
on the 18th green when I was lining that putt up," Kim
said. "It was just so special. I'll never forget that
feeling. All these emotions were starting to run through and I
realized what I had done and all the hard work had paid
off."
Curtis' 65 was the best round of
the day and the best final round in the tournament's six years.
The 36-hole leader, Jason Bohn, shot a 71 to finish third at 10
under.
But Bohn felt helpless when he
finally checked the leaderboard at No. 17.
"I looked over and said,
'He's 18-under par? Holy cow!'" Bohn said.
None of the big names lurking
near the top of the leaderboard Sunday made a charge.
Jim Furyk (7 under) and Phil
Mickelson (5 under) shot 72s. Singh was out of it before he hit
two tee shots in the water on No. 17 and chipped in for triple
bogey. His 74 left him at 4 under.
Robert Allenby's 66 put him at 9
under and alone in fourth place. But there was no match for Kim,
who became the eighth 20-something player to win this year.
"I kind of sensed that he
was going for a bit of a trip," Allenby said of Kim.
"I had a look on 17 just to see where he was. I knew he was
going pretty good. I was playing for second."
After leaving Oklahoma following
his junior year, Kim tied for second in his PGA Tour debut at
the 2006 Texas Open. He earned his tour card that winter and was
the youngest rookie in 2007 when he had four top-10s finishes.
But Kim didn't come close to
winning and struggled with his temper and his decision-making.
He decided he had to practice more and not take as many
unnecessary gambles on the course.
"I think if I had won last
year my practicing would have gone down even less — and there
wasn't much to go down," Kim joked. "I might have been
playing on the Hooters Tour. It might have been the best thing
for me, just to get slapped in the face and realize that I can't
win out here without practicing, giving it my all on every golf
shot, every practice round."
After three missed cuts earlier
in the year, Kim played in the final group at the Verizon
Heritage two weeks ago, but never threatened for the win. Things
changed at Quail Hollow, where Kim finished tied for seventh
behind Woods last year.
Kim is the fifth first-time
winner in 2008, joining Brian Gay, Greg Kraft, Andres Romero and
Johnson Wagner.
"I was an immature kid last
year," Kim said as he wore the winner's blue jacket.
"I feel like I've grown up quite a bit and I think that
helped me so much this week, so much this year and hopefully in
the future."
