Kim romps to big win at Wachovia

Posted: Sun May 4 6:12 PM

Charlotte, NC (Sports Network) - Looking for his first PGA Tour win, Anthony Kim never let up in Sunday's final round at the Wachovia Championship.

Kim closed with a three-under 69 to roll to a five-shot win, finishing his first victory at 16-under-par 272.

The 22-year-old Kim is by far the youngest winner at this event. The previous five winners all had at least 11 years of experience on the PGA Tour.

Kim also set the tournament records for margin of victory (five) and total score (272). The previous marks were two (David Toms in 2003 and Tiger Woods in 2007) and 275, which Woods posted last year.

"It's been a wonderful week. I have to thank everybody who helped me get to where I am right now," said Kim, who collected $1,152,000 for the win. "It's been a long ride, but it sure is worth it."

Former British Open champion Ben Curtis closed with a seven-under 65, the low round of the day, to take second place at 11-under-par 277. Jason Bohn was one shot further back at minus-10 after a final-round 71 at Quail Hollow.

Kim took a four-shot lead into the final round and he quickly expanded that with a five-foot birdie putt at the first.

He really turned it on later on the front nine. Kim two-putted for birdie on the par-five fifth, then rolled in birdie putts of 26 and 19 feet at the the par-five fifth, then rolled in birdie putts of 26 and 19 feet at the seventh and eighth respectively to push his lead to seven over Curtis.

"I think that was pretty important," said Kim of his good start. "I would have been happy with nine pars on the front nine, maybe a birdie. Fortunately, I got a couple putts fall on that front nine. I think I had 11 putts on that front nine, so that was pretty good."

With Curtis playing well ahead of Kim, the youngster was able to keep an eye on the major champion.

Kim missed the green at par-three 13th and walked off with his first bogey. His lead dropped to five, but Curtis was finished his round.

Kim bounced back with a seven-foot birdie putt on the 14th and made it two in a row as he two-putted for birdie at 15. Kim held a comfortable seven-shot cushion with three to play.

He did stumble to bogeys on 16 and 17, but a routine two-putt par at the last sealed the deal.

With the win, Kim finally got over the hump as he had posted three top-five finishes this year and seven in his two-plus seasons on tour.

"It's a pretty fine line. I feel like the other two times I had a good chance to win and I just couldn't pull it off," said Kim of his two career runner-up finishes. "A couple putts go in and it's a whole different ball game."

Curtis did what he had to do to put pressure on Kim. He ran off four straight birdies from the first to jump to minus-eight. birdies from the first to jump to minus-eight.

He traded a bogey for a birdie from the seventh. Around the turn, Curtis converted an eagle on the par-five 10th. He did drop a shot on the 13th, but rebounded with birdies on 14 and 15 to finish at 11-under.

"I got off to the best start you could imagine," Curtis said. "The putts on the first three or four holes, it was like two tap-ins and a three-footer and a 10-footer. It was a great start."

Robert Allenby, who hasn't won since 2001, closed with a six-under 66 to end alone in fourth at nine-under-par 279. Dudley Hart and Heath Slocum were one stroke further back at minus-eight.

Jim Furyk, the 2006 champion, closed with an even-par 72 to end alone in seventh at seven-under-par 281. Stewart Cink, Fred Couples, Rod Pampling and Adam Scott shared eighth at minus-six.