Wachovia win announces Kim's arrival

Golfer, 22, cruises to his first PGA Tour victory

CHARLOTTE -- The sweetest 478-yard walk of Anthony Kim's young life started from high on a hill Sunday as the late- afternoon shadows began to stretch across the 18th hole at the Quail Hollow Club.

Kim's final tee shot in the Wachovia Championship was 323 yards away, safely to the side of the creek that defines the 18th hole at Quail Hollow, allowing him to walk down the slope and into his dreams.

The hard work was done. What started on practice tees and golf courses and in childhood imaginations had finally come together in a dominating performance.

The split with his father over his demands for excellence had been mended.

His own expectations, tempered by a slap-in-the-face rookie season a year ago, had been met.

Wearing brown pants, a gray shirt and a smile he couldn't contain, Kim listened to the cheers as he walked through the valley bordered by spectators.

"That walk up 18 was the best feeling in my entire life, and I'll never forget that feeling," Kim said early Sunday evening, having completed his record-setting, five-stroke victory over Ben Curtis. "I had chills going up and down my spine. I want to recreate that as many times as possible now, and I'm going to really work hard."

Kim finished off his virtuoso performance with an approach shot 29 feet left of the hole and two putts that set the Wachovia Championship 72-hole scoring record at 16-under par 272, also setting a record for margin of victory.

When he holed the final putt, Kim punched the air twice, hugged caddie Eric Larson and reshaped the professional golf landscape.

Kim became the eighth player in his 20s to win this year and the fifth in the past six weeks. Still one month shy of his 23rd birthday, Kim became the 13th player since 1970 to win at such a young age, joining a group that includes Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Seve Ballesteros, Lanny Wadkins and Ben Crenshaw.

"It looks like the first of many," said Mickelson, who finished tied for 12th.

That is the expectation of many, including Kim.

Having slept on the first 54-hole lead in his life, Kim looked as comfortable Sunday as a man walking on the beach. He expected butterflies on the first tee. There were a few, but not as many as he anticipated.

He ripped his tee shot down the first fairway, floated a wedge 5 feet from the hole and -- like he did for four days --holed another putt for a birdie that sent a message that rang like cannon fire.

Heath Slocum, who started the day four behind and finished eight back, had a front-row seat as Kim's playing partner.

"From the get-go, he put his foot on the gas and he never let off," Slocum said. "That was very, very impressive."

By the time Kim made the turn Sunday, he had a seven-stroke lead over Curtis. Kim made four birdies in his first eight holes and needed only 11 putts on the front side. For the week, Kim made 21 of 25 putts in the 4- to 8-foot range.

Stewart Cink likened Kim to Woods in the way he took a big lead into Sunday and stretched it. He played with a calm confidence. He stood over shots with a purpose and an expectation.

"He's very powerful with his body through the shot and when he plays like that, he's going to hit very few destructive shots at all," CBS commentator Nick Faldo said. "That's a massive confidence boost."

Kim, who was pushed so hard by his father, Paul, that he broke away for two years out of frustration, has never lacked confidence. In fact, he said his career was helped by not winning as a rookie last year, which forced him to adjust his attitude and work ethic.

He talked to some veteran players, including Mark O'Meara, who advised him on how to approach his career, and Kim admitted he's better for it.

"He's been educated to be confident," Faldo said. "If you're going to be different [at his age], you have to have an old head on young shoulders. He's learned that this season. He's had a quick learning curve."

Early Sunday evening, the juice still pulsing through his body, Kim walked into the quiet of the Quail Hollow locker room and sat for a minute on the bench in front of his locker with his head buried in his hands.

He walked outside again for a moment and when he stepped back in, he clenched both fists and shouted, "Whooo!" It could be heard across the land.