Twenty-three-year-old Anthony Kim knows how many tournaments Tiger Woods won by the time he turned 23 (seven, including one major), but not because Kim looked it up. A writer told him. Kim (two wins, no majors) doesn't dwell on comparisons because he has a life, and it's "far-fetched" to think anyone will match Tiger's stat line — even if Kim did win one of the most coveted non-major titles of the '08 season, the Wachovia Championship, and Tiger's own event, the AT&T National. Besides, there are things A.K. can do that T.W. can't, like break a guy's ankles off the dribble (Kim frequently practiced with the University of Oklahoma's basketball team) or inhale 21 pieces of pizza in a sitting (seriously, read on). Kim took a break in the midst of the FedEx Cup playoffs to discuss his appetite for winning, and other things; his escape from the streets of L.A.; and how he overcame a topsy-turvy — and tipsy — rookie year in 2007 to grab a spot among the game's elite.
Technically, you aged only one year in 2007, but realistically it was more like...
Mentally I feel like I aged 20 years, because I just lived my life so recklessly. I felt like my life was a round that consisted of triple-bogeys and eagles and lots of double-bogeys. It was quite up and down, but I got through it and now I'm on pace to shoot a low number.
You said you played some rounds hungover in '07 and on almost no sleep. What's the worst you felt on the first tee?
[Laughs] I've felt pretty bad. I guess there were many times when I felt like I was going to throw up on the first tee, but I held it in there.
You gave up drinking for five months last year, right?
Yeah, in '07 and '08.
You don't drink anymore?
Not at tournaments. When I'm on the road I'm on the road, and alcohol is out of the question. If I go home and want a cold beverage on an off week, that's different. But I'm trying to be more disciplined so that when I'm at work I have a clear mind.
How do you measure your progress from 2007 to '08?
I'm very proud of a lot of situations this year, how I've conducted myself as a professional.
There's a story about you hitting a drive into the trees at the 2007 Reno-Tahoe Open, and the ball bouncing back out into the fairway. You said it was a turning point for you when you realized you didn't care where the ball went.
I remember Jeff Maggert looked at my buddy who was caddying for me and said, "Is he serious?" He didn't mean that in a negative way, but just that it was such a poor decision.
You mean to hit driver on that hole?
Right. I'm the only person that would have done that. I pulled it off and ended up making birdie, but it's something you don't do as a professional golfer. The fairway is 15 yards wide and the carry was 370. There's water the whole way across the fairway. If you miss left there's a whole bunch of trees and out of bounds, and if you miss right you're in the water, and if you're short you're in the water.
So you were trying to hit a ball 370 in the air?
It was off a very steep downhill, but I think I ended up carrying it like 390.
So the answer to Maggert's question was no, you weren't serious about your game.
Right. I wasn't respecting the game. I make better decisions now.
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