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Friday, May 9, 2008
Is Anthony Kim Tiger’s next challenger?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. — Well, Tiger Woods isn’t here, but Anthony Kim is. And the world may as well take a deep breath and get ready for him. All the moons are aligned in his favor. Mark O’Meara has trumpeted his arrival. (O’Meara, Tiger’s old pal and counselor.) Kim doesn’t have his own plane yet, but when the wheels lift into the well of his first jet, you might imagine that O’Meara would be among the passengers.
Historically, in situations like these, the wounded often make a swiftening recovery. Not Tiger, of course. We all know that the PGA Tour world is Tiger’s world. You also know the old fable, that when the cat is away, the mice will play. Of course, Tiger is safely ranked at No. 1, and Kim is more than an arm’s length away at No. 6. But when he won the Wachovia Championship that Woods wasn’t able to defend, the keening of a new threat was sounded across the land. While Tiger didn’t have his ear to the ground, there is no doubt that he must have picked up a ripple or two.
It played into the hands of eager journalists when Kim checked in with the early lead at The Players Championship on Friday, two 70s, 4-under par. Not exactly the player to beat, but with a 47-year-old (Kenny Perry) and a 50-year-old (Bernhard Langer) among those in pursuit, he had to like where he sat.
Kim comes from the land which has given us several Kims and an all-star cast of Parks and Jangs and Kangs on the LPGA Tour, and where youth of both genders make the turn to golf also from the time they learn to walk. Anthony is different. He was born in Los Angeles. He is eligible to play on the Ryder Cup team. He was aimed for golf from the time he was 2. “I don’t remember. That’s what my parents told me,” he said.
He went to the University of Oklahoma and made three All-American teams in a row. “I wanted to leave after my freshman year, but my mom convinced me to stay. And after my sophomore year, but she convinced me to stay again. After another year, though, she didn’t hold me back. My dad had been behind me turning pro, so that was that.”
He played the Valero Texas Open his first time out, on a sponsor’s exemption, and finished second, a $338,087 nest egg. He breezed through qualifying school, and he hasn’t looked back. He came into The Players on a $2 million cushion of earnings. Also, a restructured personality. When he first arrived on the tour, he was a kid on an island. A smart-off, hothead who found few friendships. With his newfound humility, he has developed some closer relationships.
“Are you now suddenly humble?” he was asked.
“No, I’m just not mouthing off,” he said, and he smiled, another newly acquired gesture. “I’ve changed a lot in the last couple of months. I’m hard- working, and I’m learning how to control what I say. Being No. 1 is a goal of mine, and I’m going to work hard to get there.”
It’s not that it’s just around the corner. It’s not that Tiger’s dominance is seriously endangered, but in his absence there’s a new wave of interest abroad in the press facility. Golf hasn’t been Kim’s only interest. If he hadn’t been just 5-feet-10, he might have aimed for the NBA. Basketball is still is first interest after golf.
“When I was 6, I thought I was going to play college basketball, college football and college golf,” he said. “But that was when I was 6.”
Here he is. Poised, in Tiger’s surgery absence. Though it should be considered that The Players has never been Woods’ private preserve. He hasn’t played well here, and in all these years still has only one championship on his scroll. So there’s room for an Anthony Kim at the Kingdom of Finchem.
