Anthony Kim coasts to maiden victory

There was a familiar sense of helplessness for many golfers in the final round at the Wachovia Championship on Sunday. They marveled at the swing, the skills and the mental toughness of the leader, while acknowledging they were “playing for second place.”

No, Tiger Woods didn’t make a miraculous recovery from knee surgery to defend his title at Quail Hollow Club. The players were talking about 22-year-old Anthony Kim, whose domination in a star-studded field made for Tiger-like comparisons.

Kim became the youngest winner on the PGA Tour in six years, showing off all parts of his well-honed game during a 3-under 69 to cruise to a five-shot win over Ben Curtis.

Kim broke Woods’ 72-hole tournament record by three shots with a 16-under 272 total despite two late bogeys on the difficult, tree-lined course with tricky greens.

“I looked on the 17th tee and said, ‘He’s 18-under par? Holy cow!”’ said Jason Bohn, who finished alone in third place at 10 under after a 71. “I really had to ask, ‘Am I reading that wrong?’ But I mean, take your hat off, that’s outstanding golf right there.”

The former NCAA freshman of the year at Oklahoma won’t turn 23 until next month. In a payoff from a decision to get serious about his game after a winless rookie year in 2007, Kim soaked it all in as he walked up the 18th fairway with the largest margin of victory in the tournament’s six-year history.

“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’s third PGA Tour title in the 2002 Mercedes Championship.

“I feel like an old man compared to him, and I’m only 36, but I’m still a lot older than him,” said Robert Allenby, whose 66 was good for only fourth place at 9 under. “But yeah, he has a lot of talent. He’s got a great swing. That’s the thing, when you’re that young, you’ve got to make the most of it because once you get a little bit older, that’s when the brain starts thinking too much, and that’s when you get in the way of yourself.”

Kim said he wasn’t as nervous as he thought he’d be when he walked to the first tee Sunday with a four-shot lead after Saturday’s 66. Unlike Garcia, who blew a six-shot lead here in 2005 and lost in a playoff to Vijay Singh, Kim got off to a great start.

He birdied the first and fifth holes to pull away from playing partner Heath Slocum, who shot a 73 and finished at 8 under.

“From the get-go he put his foot on the gas and never let off,” Slocum said. “That was very, very impressive.”

Kim reached 18 under after a birdie at 15, as his giant belt buckle reading “AK” sparkled in the bright sunshine.

He finished bogey-bogey-par, pumping his fist as his last putt dropped while lapping a field that included 18 of the world’s top 25 golfers.

“I knew my life was changing on the 18th green when I was lining that putt up,” said Kim, while wearing the winner’s blue jacket. “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. None of the big names lurking near the top of the leaderboard could make Kim look over his shoulder.

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.

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.

“I was an immature kid last year,” Kim said. “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.”

272 Anthony Kim 70 67 66 69

277 Ben Curtis 69 71 72 65

278 Jason Bohn 68 67 72 71

279 Robert Allenby (Aus) 70 70 73 66

280 Dudley Hart 71 67 70 72, Heath Slocum 71 68 68 73

281 Jim Furyk 71 67 71 72

282 Rodney Pampling (Aus) 71 70 75 66, Adam Scott (Aus) 72 73 66 71, Stewart Cink 73 70 65 74, Fred Couples 72 69 69 72

283 Phil Mickelson 68 74 69 72, Hunter Mahan 71 70 71 71, Dean Wilson 71 69 74 69, Pat Perez 72 73 65 73, Jesper Parnevik (Swe) 71 74 71 67

284 Vijay Singh (Fij) 70 70 70 74, J.B. Holmes 71 72 69 72, Mathew Goggin (Aus) 71 72 73 68, Ryuji Imada (Jpn) 71 73 70 70, David Toms 67 75 72 70

285 George McNeill 71 67 76 71, Steve Flesch 73 68 71 73, Geoff Ogilvy (Aus) 70 70 69 76

286 Brian Davis (Eng) 74 70 71 71, Kevin Stadler 75 70 71 70, Paul Goydos 71 69 75 71, Zach Johnson 69 76 71 70, John Senden (Aus) 72 71 71 72, Ian Poulter (Eng) 71 71 74 70, James Driscoll 70 72 74 70, Parker McLachlin 73 72 72 69, Charles Howell III 75 68 70 73

287 Michael Allen 73 70 73 71, John Merrick 69 71 73 74, Sergio Garcia (Spa) 71 72 74 70, Ken Duke 73 72 71 71, Todd Hamilton 72 71 72 72, Stephen Ames (Can) 69 75 74 69

288 Nick Watney 73 69 71 75, Brad Adamonis 70 70 74 74, Robert Garrigus 74 68 72 74, Andres Romero (Arg) 72 71 72 73, Nick O'Hern (Aus) 71 70 71 76, Tommy Armour III 74 68 74 72, Aaron Baddeley (Aus) 73 71 74 70, Steve Marino 69 71 74 74, Justin Bolli 73 71 73 71

289 Kenny Perry 74 71 73 71, Shaun Micheel 76 69 71 73, Boo Weekley 72 70 76 71, Troy Matteson 71 73 74 71, D.J. Trahan 71 73 73 72

290 Jeff Quinney 69 73 73 75

291 Billy Mayfair 74 67 76 74, Jay Williamson 70 70 77 74, Camilo Villegas (Col) 69 70 77 75, Carlos Franco (Par) 72 70 75 74, Rocco Mediate 72 72 73 74, Brandt Snedeker 73 69 76 73, Carl Pettersson (Swe) 72 73 74 72

292 Patrick Sheehan 74 71 73 74, Y. E Yang (Kor) 73 69 76 74, Nathan Green (Aus) 73 72 70 77, Steve Lowery 70 72 77 73, Matt Kuchar 73 72 73 74

293 Rory Sabbatini (Rsa) 70 72 77 74, Mark Wilson 74 71 71 77

295 Lucas Glover 73 70 72 80

296 Rich Beem 72 71 75 78, Nick Flanagan (Aus) 69 75 74 78

300 Angel Cabrera (Arg) 71 74 73 82