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By John Reger
PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer
PALM DESERT, California (Ticker) - Anthony Kim begins his second full
season on the PGA Tour a bit wiser. Well, as wise as a 22-year-old can
be.
Though at least on a golf course, Kim is much more mature than his age would indicate.
Despite an anxiousness to start his sophomore season, Kim resisted the
temptation to fly to Hawaii and play the Sony Open, instead staying at
his old hometown of Palm Desert and preparing for the Bob Hope Chrysler
Classic, which began Wednesday.
"It's always special to come back because I see so many familiar
faces," Kim said. "I enjoy playing in this weather and playing on these
courses. So I'm really excited to get back and have this as my start to
the season."
Kim's rookie year was pretty impressive for someone who couldn't
legally drink until June. He had four top-10 finishes, including a tie
for third at the Zurich Classic in New Orleans and a tie for fifth at
both the Shell Houston Open and the Wachovia Championship.
"Last year, to sum it all up, it was a great learning experience," Kim
said. "I can't say enough about how much I learned last year and how to
be a professional golfer instead of just somebody who plays golf and
makes money doing it."
Kim made plenty of money last year, earning $1.545 million in 26 events. He only missed the cut six times.
It was the most golf Kim had played in his life and it took a toll on
him. The long schedule might have cost him the tour's Rookie of the
Year award. Kim lost it to Brandt Snedeker.
"It was disappointing but he deserved it," Kim said. "He played an
unbelievable season and I didn't do what I needed, what I felt like I
was capable of doing. At the end of the day I kept my (tour) card, I
learned a lot. So I'm not going to take anything away from that year
and hopefully this year will be a much better year."
Kim did a veteran move and instead of going right to the range to work
on his swing in the winter, he took some time away from the game.
"I played probably 10 days of golf in four-and-a-half months," Kim
said. "I took quite a bit of time off and it was the best thing I could
have done for myself. Mentally I was fried, physically I wasn't in good
shape and I wasn't giving myself an opportunity to play good golf."
It was one of many things Kim learned about being a professional.
"Because I played so many events early, I didn't save myself for the
end of the year, where the fall finish was kind of an easy way to move
up the money list," Kim said. "I didn't get in The Masters or finish in
the top 30, so definitely a learning experience."
Though Kim finished tied for second at the 2006 Valero Texas Open, his
first event after turning professional, he still wanted to make an
impression on tour last year.
"Last year was so bittersweet because I did have some good events, but
at the same time I didn't win and I didn't give myself very many
chances to win," Kim said. "I didn't prepare the right way. So
obviously I think preparation was what I needed to do for this year to
have some chances to win."
Kim's high finishes were mostly the result of low scores on the
weekend, but while he moved up the leaderboard, he didn't seriously
challenge for a victory.
"I'm looking forward to getting out there and getting started well
early to give myself a chance coming down the stretch on Sunday," Kim
said. "Instead of having to chase the last 36 holes, because that gets
pretty hard out there."
Apparently that lesson is sticking. Kim shot a 3-under 69 in the first
round of the Hope and is tied for 40th place going into the second
round.
"I need to focus on the shot at hand," Kim said. "I didn't do that as well as I wanted to last year."
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