Young Kim is short on trivia, long on talent
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Some might have agonized over the near miss. Anthony Kim simply shrugged it off.
Casey Watabu beat Kim in the finals of the 2006 U.S. Amateur Public Links, earning an invitation into the next year's Masters Tournament.
Kim wasn't too disappointed. He turned pro the next month and finished tied for second in his PGA Tour debut on a sponsor's exemption at the Valero Texas Open.
"I wasn't upset," Kim said of the missed chance that some might have lamented for years. "I figured all I've got to do is play good as a pro and I'll get another opportunity."
Kim, 23, played well enough two years later to earn his first trip to Augusta. He's been tapped as the next American star, with two PGA Tour victories last summer and Ryder Cup heroics last fall. Now he's set to make a much anticipated debut in the Masters.
"I can't tell you how excited I am," Kim said. "It's been a lifelong dream to get a tee time up there. That's the first goal, is you have to be there to have an opportunity to win. ... I had actually been invited before to go play out there and didn't want to unless I had a tee time. So I'm looking forward to it. I'm sure it's going to be a special experience for me."
In October at a Nike golf function emceed by Tiger Woods, Kim blurted out that Woods had won something like eight majors. Woods was incredulous.
"Eight!" interrupted the player who only a few months before won his 14th career major on one leg at the U.S. Open. "C'mon. Really?"
"I'm not a huge golf fan, so I don't know all the stats," Kim said. "I really thought he had won about eight majors, and he told me he won 14. I didn't know that."
Kim was greatly inspired by Woods' first major victory at Augusta in 1997.
"I remember when I was about 12 years old and watched Tiger win the Masters," he said. "I remember thinking that one day I want that to be me."
Considering he's played in only five majors in his career, Kim already shows that he has what it takes. He has never missed a major cut, and he finished tied for seventh in his British Open debut last July at Royal Birkdale despite getting his first taste of links golf under tough weather conditions. So he comes to Augusta having climbed to No. 11 in the world rankings despite his notably light work ethic. Things seem to have come easy for him, though he admits it might be a good thing that he didn't win his PGA Tour debut.
"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 and giving it my all and focusing on every golf shot and on every practice round," he said. "That did wonders for me this year, and I'm just looking forward to the future now."
Kim finished tied for second with a spectacular near hole-out on the final hole at the season-opening event at Kapalua. He then missed the cut in Phoenix and played fair in Malaysia and Australia before returning to the PGA Tour.
As good as he is, he knows he's not there yet.
"I had a pretty good year last year, and I think there's a lot of room for me to grow, which I'm very excited about," he said. "Although I had some opportunities to win and let them slip away, I still have two of them under my belt now and have a lot more confidence going into this year.
"Now, I didn't get off to the best start this year, even though I finished second at Mercedes. I don't feel like I've played very well, and I've taken some time off in the off-season to take care of some little nagging injuries that I had. For the first time I feel like I'm healthy and I'm working out hard. I'm trying to make the right moves to become a better player, and it's going to happen. It hasn't happened so far, but it will happen."
Augusta, he hopes, is the place for him.
"That's one major I've wanted to win," he said. "My parents don't come to many golf tournaments, but they'll be there. It will be a great experience."
Reach Scott Michaux at (706) 823-3219 or scott.michaux@augustachronicle.com.
