The Breakthrough Win Finally Comes for Anthony Kim at the Wachovia / Anthony Kim sparge în sfârşit gheaţa cu o victorie la Wachovia

Anthony Kim wins with -16 at Quail Hollow CC

Credit: Fred Vuich - Sports Illustrated


“The sky’s the limit” – so they said about the man from Texas and they were right. Only 22 years of age, Anthony Kim won the Wachovia Championship by 5 shots and became the youngest player to win a PGA TOUR event since Sergio Garcia triumphed at the 2002 Mercedes Championship.

Kim was second at the Verizon Heritage, finishing three shots behind Boo Weekley, but that was a golf course where Weekley’s experience had the better of Kim and the runner-up place was just as good.

The par 72 course at the Quail Hollow CC was more to Anthony’s liking. Although the defending champions was absent, as Tiger was still recovering from his knee surgery, a very good field was present with many big names having great expectations from this tournament. Phil Mickelson, Adam Scott and Vijay Singh were just some of those big guns.

LIVE@ covered the par 3 17^th during all of the four rounds and they provided great insights on the swings of the players, on the stats for each of the competitors and many other interesting facts and figures from the tour. They will also be at the par 3 17^th this week at THE PLAYERS Championship with very good commentary as usual.

I would also like to remind you about the PGA TOUR Network, the official radio of the PGA TOUR, on XM 146. You should tune in for their coverage of every shot and every player during the tournament.

Now to the actual tournament... The first round of David Toms was the best on Thursday as he was 5-under-par. But the top of the leaderboard was very crowded with a lot of players close to the leader. Among them, Mickelson at 68, Singh at 70 and Steve Marino at 69. The second round was when Anthony Kim came to the foreground. Kim followed his 70 with a 5-under-par on Friday and was closing in on the leader, Jason Bohn who had the lead at mid-way. These two, along with Jim Furyk were three of the six players who had rounds of 67 on the second day. The cut line was drawn at +1 and Luke Donald, Steve Stricker and Trevor Immelman failed to finish above it.

The third round saw a couple of 65s from Stewart Cink and Pat Perez and a couple of 66s from Anthony Kim and the winner from the EDS Byron Nelson Championship, Adam Scott. Heath Slocum posted a 68 and the rest of the field were at -3 or higher. Kim already had a 4-shot lead after 54 holes, with Slocum and Bohn tied for second at -9 for the championship.

As 87 players made the cut on Friday, 14 of them had to pack their bags after the Saturday round, with only 72 players remaining for the last 18 holes. Even though Ben Curtis managed to sign a 65 on the scorecard, Anthony Kim’s 69 was enough for the victory, his first after having played two times in 2006 and joining the PGA TOUR in 2007, from the Q-School.

Not only the margin by which he won was impressive, but also the total score: -16. It was three shots better than the previous record set by Tiger Woods last year. Kim is proving to be a young gun which will have a lot to say from this season on. So keep an eye on him at THE PLAYERS this week.

We wish him all the best and many victories to add up on top of this one!

Here are the final results:

1		Anthony Kim	-16		70	67	66	69
2		Ben Curtis	-11		69	71	72	65
3		Jason Bohn	-10		68	67	72	71
4		Robert Allenby	-9		70	70	73	66
T5		Dudley Hart	-8		71	67	70	72
T5		Heath Slocum	-8		71	68	68	73
7		Jim Furyk	-7		71	67	71	72
T8		Rod Pampling	-6		71	70	75	66
T8		Adam Scott	-6		72	73	66	71
T8		Fred Couples	-6		72	69	69	72
T8		Stewart Cink	-6		73	70	65	74

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Anthony Kim on the 18th green during the third round

Credit: Fred Vuich - Sports Illustrated


Jim Furyk posted a -1 on Saturday

Credit: Scott Halleran - Getty Images


Jim Furyk stayed at even par 72 on Sunday

Credit: Streeter Lecka - Getty Images


Jason Bohn chips in to scramble on the 18th on Saturday

Credit: Fred Vuich - Sports Illustrated


Heath Slocum was 1-over on Sunday

Credit: Fred Vuich - Sports Illustrated


Robert Allenby's 66 wasn't enough to reach Kim

Credit: Jason E. Miczek - Associated Press

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"Cerul e limita" - aşa s-a spus despre texan şi a fost doar purul adevăr. La vârsta de doar 22 de ani, Anthony Kim a câştigat Campionatul Wachovia cu 5 lovituri avans, devenind astfel cel mai tânăr jucător care câştigă un turneu de PGA TOUR de la victoria lui Sergio Garcia la Campionatul Mercedes în 2002.

Kim s-a clasat al doilea la Verizon Heritage, încheiând la trei lovituri în spatele lui Boo Weekley, dar acela era un traseu unde experienţa lui Weekley şi-a spus cuvântul şi locul doi a fost o pziţionare bună pentru tânărul Anthony.

Traseul de par 72 de la Quail Hollow CC era mai pe placul lui Kim. Deşi campionul en-titre absenta, Tiger fiind încă în perioada de recuperare după operaţia la genunchi, un field foarte bun era prezent, multe nume mari având aşteptări serioase de la acest turneu. Phil Mickelson, Adam Scott şi Vijay Singh erau doar câţiva dintre favoriţi.

LIVE@ a transmis de la cupa a 17-a de par 3 în timpul tuturor celor 4 runde, comentatorii analizând swing-urile jucătorilor, punând la dispoziţie diverse statistici despre jocul lor, cât şi întâmplări din tur. Ei vor fi prezenţi şi la extraordinarul par 3 de săptămâna aceasta de la Campionatul THE PLAYERS cu acelaşi comentariu excelent ca întotdeauna.

Aş vrea să amintesc cu această ocazie şi de radioul oficial al PGA TOUR, PGA TOUR Network care transmite pe postul XM146. Vă recomand să ascultaţi transmisia lor de o foarte bună calitate de la fiecare turneu.

Acum, să revin la turneul în sine... David Toms a reuşit cea mai bună rundă de joi cu un 5-sub-par. Dar partea de sus a clasamentului era foarte aglomerată, mulţi jucători aflându-se aproape de lider. Printre ei, Mickelson cu un 68, Singh cu un 70 şi Steve Marino cu un 69.

A doua rundă l-a adus pe Anthony Kim în prim-plan. Kim a continuat scorul de 70 obţinut joi, cu un 67 (5-sub-par) vineri şi s-a apropiat de liderul de la jumătatea turneului, Jason Bohn. Aceştia doi, împreună cu Jim Furyk au fost trei dintre cei ce au avut runde de 5-sub-par în a doua zi. Linia de cut a fost trasă la +1 şi Luke Donald, Steve Stricker şi Trevor Immelman nu au reuşit să încheie cele 36 de cupe deasupra ei.

A treia rundă a văzut o pereche de 65 din partea lui Stewart Cink şi Pat Perez şi o pereche de 66 din partea lui Anthony Kim şi a câştigătorului Campionatului EDS Byron Nelson, Adam Scott. Heath Slocum a postat un 68 iar resrul field-ului a fost la 3-sub-par sau mai rău. Kim deţinea deja conducerea cu 4 lovituri avans , după 54 de cupe, cu Slocum şi Bohn la egalitate în spatele lui, la -9 pentru campionat.

Cum vineri,87 de jucători au reuşit să termine deasupra liniei de cut, 14 dintre ei au trebuit să-şi facă bagajele după runda de sâmbătă, doar 72 de competitori rămânând pentru ultimele 18 cupe. Deşi Ben Curtis a semnat pentru un 65 (7-sub-par) duminică în runda a patra, 69-le lui Anthony Kim a fost de ajuns pentru a-i aduce prima victorie în tur, după ce a jucat de două ori în sezonul 2006 şi a intrat în tur în 2007 prin Q-School.

Nu doar distanţa la care a câştigat a fost impresionantă, ci şi scorul total pentru turneu: -16. Scorul a fost cu trei lovituri mai bun decât recordul anterior pe acest traseu, stabilit de Tiger Woods anul trecut. Kim face dovada de a fi un jucător cu un viitor strălucit, care va avea multe de spus în următoarele sezoane. Deci fiţi cu ochii pe el la Campionatul THE PLAYERS săptămâna aceasta.

Îi dorim toate cele bune şi multe victorii de adăugat lângă aceasta!

Iată rezultatele finale:

1		Anthony Kim	-16		70	67	66	69
2		Ben Curtis	-11		69	71	72	65
3		Jason Bohn	-10		68	67	72	71
4		Robert Allenby	-9		70	70	73	66
T5		Dudley Hart	-8		71	67	70	72
T5		Heath Slocum	-8		71	68	68	73
7		Jim Furyk	-7		71	67	71	72
T8		Rod Pampling	-6		71	70	75	66
T8		Adam Scott	-6		72	73	66	71
T8		Fred Couples	-6		72	69	69	72
T8		Stewart Cink	-6		73	70	65	74