Kim Sets Sights on Ryder Cup Win

Sept. 17, 2008

By Thomas Bonk, Los Angeles Times

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - So the youngest player on the U.S. team is supposed to make the biggest difference in the oldest match-play competition in pro golf?

That's all there is to deal with this week for Anthony Kim, a Ryder Cup rookie at 23, a two-time winner in his first full year on the PGA Tour and the player who's probably having more than a few bricks of pressure heaved on his back.

He said Tuesday that he's ready.

"This is what I've worked toward," he said. "I feel like this is a huge accomplishment in my life, something I'll never forget, and I'm looking forward to having a great week."

Kim might need to be great if the U.S. is going to avoid a fourth consecutive loss to Europe and a third consecutive blowout.

He practiced Tuesday in a group that included Phil Mickelson, Justin Leonard and Hunter Mahan.

Born in Los Angeles, raised in La Quinta, a pro after three years at the University of Oklahoma, Kim has a chance to expand his horizons this week in Kentucky.

He may be inexperienced in the Ryder Cup, but Kim is already an experienced winner this year.

His victories in the Wachovia at Quail Hollow and in the AT&T National at Congressional -- regarded as two of the more difficult courses on the PGA Tour -- have advanced his reputation as a closer.

Kim has seven top 10s this year, earned $4.26 million and easily played his way onto the Ryder Cup team. U.S. captain Paul Azinger hopes expectations for Kim do not exceed his grasp.

"We all know how well he's played in the past . . . and I think he has a bright future," Azinger said.

"A lot of times our Ryder Cup is a steppingstone for guys to win major championships. He's young, but for expectations, you know, I don't think that's fair to do to anybody. I'm just the captain for a week.

"I think everybody probably expects Anthony Kim to be a great player for the rest of his career. . . . One week, I just look for [him] to be completely committed to the team concept and to trying to get ready to play."

Match play isn't a foreign concept to Kim, who was on the 2005 U.S. team that won the Walker Cup, the biennial competition between amateurs from the U.S. and a team from Britain and Ireland. J.B. Holmes, another Ryder Cup rookie this week, was a teammate.

"It was the most pressure I've put on myself, playing in the Walker Cup, and I know there's going to be more pressure [on this] stage," Kim said. "But I feel like I'm a more accomplished player [and] a more mature person."

The competition begins Friday, with two-man teams from each side playing better-ball and alternate-shot formats the first two days. On Sunday, there will be 12 singles matches to decide the Cup, which goes to the first team to 14 1/2 points.

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