Final round: Kim grabs another for the under 30s
BETHESDA, Md. (AP) -- Anthony Kim saved his diamond-studded "AK" belt buckle for the final round, then turned in a gem Sunday in the AT&T National to affirm his status as a rising star.
Three shots behind going into the final round, the 23-year-old Kim emerged from the pack with consecutive birdies around the turn at Congressional and closed with a 5-under 65 for a two-shot victory over Fredrik Jacobson.
Kim became the first American under 25 to win twice in one year on the PGA TOUR since Tiger Woods.
Woods, the tournament host who is recovering from season-ending knee surgery, wasn't around to see a game that he might have recognized. Kim is an explosive talent who wasn't getting much out of his game until he dedicated himself more to practice than partying.
He eliminated the mistakes on a soft, cloudy morning at Congressional and fired at flags when it made sense. Kim stretched his lead to four shots on the back nine before Jacobson made a charge that came too late.
Kim, who won earlier this year at the Wachovia Championship, finished at 12-under 268 and earned $1.08 million, moving him to No. 6 in the Ryder Cup standings and closer to the top 10 in the world ranking.
That his second victory came at Woods' event held special meaning for Kim, who idolized the world's No. 1 player as a junior golfer.
"I would watch everything he did, every move he made, when I was growing up," Kim said. "So to win his tournament is a true honor. I'm very excited."
Jacobson, taken out of the mix early with a double bogey, ran off four straight birdies until he ran into trouble off the tee and in the bunker on the 18th hole, scrambling for a par and a 65.
The consolation prize was a trip to the British Open as the highest finisher among the top five at the AT&T National who were not already eligible. U.S. Open runner-up Rocco Mediate also secured a spot at Royal Birkdale from a special money list.
Tommy Armour III closed with a 69 and was among six players who tied for third at 271. Armour finished with six straight pars, when one birdie would have earned him a spot in the British Open over Mediate.
Kim has a certain swagger about him and still loves to style, promising all week to break out another of his garish belt buckles, suggesting that he might wait until he got into the final group. But there was no time to wait.
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| Sunday's Best |
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The par-4, 345-yard eighth was easiest with a Sunday scoring average of 3.648.
The par-4, 532-yard sixth was the toughest with a Sunday scoring average of 4.380.
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AT&T National champ Anthony Kim birdied No. 1 for the fourth time this week after an approach from the rough landed him just a few feet from the pin. 
Australia's Peter Lonard earns top honors for the best final round with a Sunday score of 7-under 63. With six birdies, one bogey and an eagle, Lonard jumped 33 spots from T45 to T12.| QUOTE OF THE DAY | ||
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WITH LATEST WIN, KIM APPEARS READY TO FILL WOODS' ABSENCE
By Helen Ross, PGATOUR.com Chief of Correspondents
BETHESDA, Md. -- For the better part of the last two weeks, ever since Tiger Woods' left knee was sliced open by that scalpel, sportswriters and TV's talking heads have speculated on who would step up in his absence.
We may now have our answer.
| 1 | The number of previous TOUR wins earned by 2008 AT&T National champion Anthony Kim |
| 2 | The number of players who finished in the top 10 in both years of the AT&T National |
| 3 | The number of shots under last year's winning score of 271 by K.J. Choi |
Meet Anthony Kim, who won the AT&T National presented by Tiger Woods on Sunday at Congressional Country Club.
The victory was the uber-talented 23-year-old's second in his last five starts. In the last decade only Kim, Tiger Woods, Sergio Garcia and Adam Scott have won twice in a single year before their 25th birthdays.
"Winning out here is so tough that anytime you get an opportunity to be in the hunt, it feels great," acknowledged Kim, who also won the Wachovia Championship in May. "And to capitalize on the two chances I've had of late feels wonderful."
Kim looks to have some staying power, too. He's already got four top-three finishes this year. He's fifth in the FedExCup standings, fifth on the PGA TOUR money list and sixth in the Ryder Cup standings, which has got to make Captain Paul Azinger ecstatic.
Make no mistake about it, this second-generation Korean-American is the real deal. Whether he is the long-awaited rival to Woods remains to be seen, but he's certainly making a pretty strong case for himself -- even if he won't admit it.
"I can't answer that, because guys like Sergio and Justin Rose, there's upcoming guys right now," Kim said candidly. "Jason Day is a great player, and there's going to be quite a few challengers, and hopefully somebody can step up.
"I haven't done enough to say I'm the guy. I'd like to think that I can work my way into that position. But right now, I still have a ways to go."
Kim took another big step at Congressional, though. He tackled a major-championship caliber golf course and shot four rounds in the 60s, including Sunday's stellar 65. His playing partner, Dean Wilson, who tied for third, was impressed.
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| What the leaders said... | ||||||||||||||||
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WHO WILL BE HEADING ACROSS THE POND?
By Helen Ross, PGATOUR.com Chief of Correspondents
Anthony Kim took a lot of the suspense out of the final round of the AT&T National with a fine round of 65 that lifted him to a two-stroke victory at Congressional Country Club.
Two other winners, though, were Rocco Mediate and Fredrik Jacobson, who each earned spots in the British Open at Royal Birkdale.
Mediate was one of two players who qualified through the five-event special British Open money list that includes earnings at the Stanford St. Jude Championship, U.S. Open, Travelers Championship, Buick Open and AT&T National.
Kenny Perry led that list but has decided not to play at Royal Birkdale. The two-time PGA TOUR champ will instead play at the U.S. Bank Championship in Milwaukee, an event he won in 2003.
Even though Perry isn't playing in the British Open, his exemption does not pass down to the third person on that money list -- which would have been Jacobson. The Swede finished second at AT&T National, though, and earned the invitation that went to the player in the top five at AT&T National not otherwise qualified.
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| Then and now | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Comparing the top 10 from 2007 and 2008 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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MAHAN'S MINI MELTDOWN
Hunter Mahan was looking good Sunday morning. And why not? After a third-round 64 helped him into a tie for 11th place going into the final round, the 26-year-old Oklahoma State Cowboy was in position to keep his latest hot streak alive.
His tie for 18th at the U.S. Open followed by an oh-so-close title defense at the Travelers Championship -- Mahan came in second to Stewart Cink -- were both signs that pointed to another hot finish this week. His tie for eighth at last year's inaugural AT&T National made his chances of finishing well even more credible.
A minor stumble on the second hole after Mahan's 9:30 a.m. tee time was soon corrected by a slew of birdies on the third, fifth, sixth, eighth and ninth holes that brought him to 4 under at the turn, making a run at the lead, but the back nine wasn't so kind.
A bogey on No. 14 followed by a double on No. 15 took the sting out of Mahan's fiery final round, and, despite a birdie on No. 18 to finish the day, Mahan had to settle for a tie for 12th after coming so close to what might have been the second win he's been searching hard for over these last few weeks.
Still, a final-round 68 and overall score of 7-under 273 is nothing to sneeze at. It's another top-15 finish for Mahan to notch on his belt and hopefully another boost of confidence to take into his next tournament.
Surely it won't be long before he hoists a trophy again.
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