Anthony Kim opens a four shot advantage

Quail Hollow Club’s tree-lined, old-style setup has produced an impressive list of winners, ranging from Vijay Singh to Jim Furyk to last year’s champion, Tiger Woods.

With Woods unable to defend his Wachovia Championship title following knee surgery, Anthony Kim moved a step away from joining that elite list—a month shy of his 23rd birthday.

The steady, focused, and less flamboyant Kim shot a 6-under 66 on Saturday to take a four-shot lead over Jason Bohn and Heath Slocum after the third round.

While Kim still sports the signature belt buckle with his initials, the big hitter’s recent focus on his game left him at 13-under and as close as ever to his first PGA Tour win.

Kim passed Bohn, the second-round leader and playing partner, by sinking a 9-foot birdie putt on the ninth hole. Kim added another birdie at No. 14, then navigated through the course’s tough closing stretch with his best golf of the round.

After getting up and down for par on the 17th, Kim ripped a 324-yard drive on No. 18 before his second shot landed 7 feet from the cup. He made the putt and calmly walked off the course well ahead of one of the strongest non-major fields on the tour.

Bohn’s chip-in for par on the 18th gave him a 72 and a second-place tie with Slocum, who charged into contention by holing out for eagle on the 15th hole. Slocum shot a 68 and will be paired with Stewart Cink on Sunday. Cink was tied with Dudley Hart at 8 under.

They’ll all chase Kim, who has quickly dismissed early talk of a sophomore slump.

After three missed cuts and no finish better than 30th in six tournaments, Kim decided he was “talking a little bit more than I was practicing.” His renewed focus led to his tie for second at the Verizon Heritage last month.

Bohn, who entered the day with a two-shot lead over Kim, missed birdie putts on 13 and 14, then bogeyed the par-5 15th. That allowed Kim to roar past him.

Kim was born in Los Angeles and was the NCAA freshman of the year at Oklahoma in 2004. He turned pro after his junior year and burst onto the PGA Tour by tying for second in the Texas Open in 2006.

As the youngest rookie on the PGA Tour in 2007, Kim had four top-10 finishes — including a seventh-place finish at Quail Hollow.

Phil Mickelson recovered from two double bogeys in his final four holes Friday to shoot a 69. He was at 5 under, but Kim’s strong finish left him eight shots back.

203 Anthony Kim 70 67 66

207 Heath Slocum 71 68 68, Jason Bohn 68 67 72

208 Dudley Hart 71 67 70, Stewart Cink 73 70 65

209 Jim Furyk 71 67 71, Geoff Ogilvy (Aus) 70 70 69

210 Vijay Singh (Fij) 70 70 70, Pat Perez 72 73 65, Fred Couples 72 69 69

211 Phil Mickelson 68 74 69, Adam Scott (Aus) 72 73 66

212 Hunter Mahan 71 70 71, J.B. Holmes 71 72 69, Steve Flesch 73 68 71, Ben Curtis 69 71 72, Nick O'Hern (Aus) 71 70 71

213 Nick Watney 73 69 71, Robert Allenby (Aus) 70 70 73, John Merrick 69 71 73, Charles Howell III 75 68 70

214 Brad Adamonis 70 70 74, Robert Garrigus 74 68 72, John Senden (Aus) 72 71 71, David Toms 67 75 72, Dean Wilson 71 69 74, Steve Marino 69 71 74, George McNeill 71 67 76, Ryuji Imada (Jpn) 71 73 70

215 Brian Davis (Eng) 74 70 71, Nathan Green (Aus) 73 72 70, Paul Goydos 71 69 75, Jeff Quinney 69 73 73, Lucas Glover 73 70 72, Andres Romero (Arg) 72 71 72, Todd Hamilton 72 71 72

216 Rodney Pampling (Aus) 71 70 75, Zach Johnson 69 76 71, James Driscoll 70 72 74, Tommy Armour III 74 68 74, Mark Wilson 74 71 71, Kevin Stadler 75 70 71, Michael Allen 73 70 73, Mathew Goggin (Aus) 71 72 73, Shaun Micheel 76 69 71, Ian Poulter (Eng) 71 71 74, Ken Duke 73 72 71, Camilo Villegas (Col) 69 70 77, Jesper Parnevik (Swe) 71 74 71

217 Sergio Garcia (Spa) 71 72 74, Justin Bolli 73 71 73, Billy Mayfair 74 67 76, Jay Williamson 70 70 77, Carlos Franco (Par) 72 70 75, Rocco Mediate 72 72 73, Parker McLachlin 73 72 72, D.J. Trahan 71 73 73

218 Patrick Sheehan 74 71 73, Matt Kuchar 73 72 73, Angel Cabrera (Arg) 71 74 73, Nick Flanagan (Aus) 69 75 74, Y. E Yang (Kor) 73 69 76, Kenny Perry 74 71 73, Aaron Baddeley (Aus) 73 71 74, Boo Weekley 72 70 76, Rich Beem 72 71 75, Brandt Snedeker 73 69 76, Troy Matteson 71 73 74, Stephen Ames (Can) 69 75 74

219 Rory Sabbatini (Rsa) 70 72 77, Steve Lowery 70 72 77, Carl Pettersson (Swe) 72 73 74

220 Richard Johnson (Wal) 73 70 77, Kevin Na (Kor) 73 72 75, Jeff Maggert 71 70 79, Tim Petrovic 73 71 76, Joe Ogilvie 73 72 75, Stephen Leaney (Aus) 70 72 78

221 Michael Letzig 75 70 76

222 Vaughn Taylor 69 75 78, Lee Janzen 72 70 80, Brett Wetterich 73 72 77, Shane Bertsch 71 73 78

223 Charles Warren 74 71 78, Roland Thatcher 74 71 78, Kenneth Ferrie (Eng) 72 72 79

225 Garrett Willis 74 71 80