Kim finding it hard to warm up as summer approaches
By Craig Dolch, PGATOUR.COM Contributor
Wake-up calls come in a variety of forms, and sometimes they come at a most unexpected time.
For Anthony Kim, his wake-up call could have come two weeks ago, when he shot a final-nine 44 at THE PLAYERS Championship to miss the cut by double figures.
Or it could have come Sunday, when he struggled to a final-round 73 that left him tied for 71st place, ahead of just three players to make the cut at the Valero Texas Open.
Spending the weekend either watching the PGA TOUR's signature event or teeing off too-early-in-the-morning-to-be-in-contention isn't what most golf observers had in mind for Kim this year.
It's not what Kim imagined, either.
Not after his breakout 2008 season when the third-year pro won his first two PGA TOUR titles and earned more than $6 million after finishing fourth in the FedExCup standings. Not after an electric performance at the Ryder Cup where Kim beat Sergio Garcia so bad in singles, he didn't know the match was over.
Expectations for Kim are bigger than his trademark "AK" belt buckles. He is one of the young stars on the PGA TOUR who many believe can challenge Tiger Woods.
And Kim showed glimpses of his brilliance with a second-place tie at the season-opening Mercedes-Benz Championship and, three months later, a record-setting 11 birdies while shooting a second-round 65 at the Masters. But take away that runner-up showing in Hawaii and a 20th-place tie at Augusta National, and Kim has no other top-25 showings in his eight stroke-play events this year. That's why his Official World Golf Ranking has dropped from No. 9 to No. 15.
"I'm just trying to stay as patient as possible," Kim said, "Even though, it's very tough."
It would be fitting if the wake-up call occurs in this week's HP Byron Nelson Championship in Irving, Tex. After all, Dallas is where Kim calls home -- when he is home.
There are valid reasons for Kim's slow start. He pulled out of the The 50th Bob Hope Classic hosted by Arnold Palmer with a sore shoulder, then withdrew before the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by MasterCard because of the flu. Those ailments require recovery time.
But Kim also raised some eyebrows earlier this year when the California native skipped three prominent in-state PGA TOUR events (Buick Invitational, AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am and Northern Trust Open) to play overseas in the Maybank Malaysian Open in Kuala Lumpur and the Johnnie Walker Classic in Perth, Australia.
Kim insists he was only doing what many of the veteran players on the PGA TOUR advised him to do by playing international golf.
"I would do it again," Kim said at the Masters, when asked if he second-guessed his travel plans. "All I'm trying to do is gain experience, and obviously play better golf as I go along. The PGA TOUR is where my home is; that's where I'm going to play my golf.
"But I do want to play all around the world and want to be an international player. At 23 and being single, (why not) go travel the world and not have to worry about maybe missing my kids' basketball game or something like that? And that's what the veterans have told me: When you're young, go out there and experience new things and go travel around the world to see what you like and what you dislike, where you want to go, where you don't want to go."
But the problem with this strategy came when Kim had to pull out of the two PGA TOUR events hosted by Arnold Palmer, leaving him with a staggered schedule. Consider this: When Kim played the Shell Houston Open and the Masters in back-to-back weeks, it marked the first time he had teed it up in consecutive PGA TOUR events since last September, when he was playing in the FedExCup Playoffs for the FedExCup.
You can't find your rhythm like that.
Whatever the reason, Kim's swing isn't as tight as it was a year ago, when he was No. 2 in the TOUR's All-Around category (this year, he's 72nd). Kim ranks 182nd in driving accuracy and 137th in greens in regulation, yet somehow he ranks second in birdies (4.54 a round), which is a testament to his talents.
Problem is, Kim also is making too many mistakes during his rounds, especially on Sundays. His final-round scoring average of 72.3 ranks 144th on the TOUR.
So how does Kim turn it around? To paraphrase Jack Burke Jr., Kim not only needs to play better, he needs to just play. And Kim is doing just that, as he's in the midst of playing six consecutive weeks -- the HP Byron Nelson Championship is his fourth in a row -- to get his game into a flow.
"Hopefully, I can start playing some good golf and get back into it," Kim said.
Kim hasn't done too badly for himself. He's 23, has millions in the bank and gets to play professional golf for a living. But he's learned this year there's a very thin line on the PGA TOUR between winning and struggling.
Maybe after he's done enough of the latter, he'll get back to doing the former.
Craig Dolch is a freelance columnist for PGATOUR.COM. His views do not necessarily represent the views of the PGA TOUR.
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