STROKE OF THE DAY

"I'm not sure that the most talented player I saw wasn't myself."

Heading into last weekend’s Wachovia Championship, five of the last seven PGA Tour events were won by a player in his 20s.

Twenty-two-year-old Anthony Kim was happy to continue that trend.

The Los Angeles area native shot 9-under par over the weekend at Charlotte’s difficult Quail Hollow Club, finishing at 16-under and five shots clear of the field for his first Tour victory.

Both his total score and winning margin were tournament records.

“This is what I’ve been dreaming about my whole life, and fulfilling this dream is awesome,” said Kim, who also played at La Quinta High School. “I’d like to keep going and working hard and see how good I can really be.”

Kim, who tied for third at the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic in January and finished joint second at the Verizon Heritage in April, found the winner’s circle in his 38th career PGA Tour start. He did it in style, too, building a cozy lead in the final round thanks to a 32 on the front nine.

“I was actually pretty comfortable. I thought I’d have a couple more butterflies in my stomach on the first tee,” Kim said.

Already one of the Tour’s top putters heading into Wachovia, Kim engineered one of the better ballstriking weeks of his career — he ranked 16th in the field in greens in regulation and 21st in driving accuracy, giving himself plenty of scoring chances (he led the field with 22 birdies).

Kim, who is now fourth on the FedEx Cup points list, has gained a two-year exemption on the PGA Tour and an invitation to the 2009 Masters. He’s also fifth in the standings for the United States Ryder Cup team.

“I haven’t even thought about all that,” Kim said of those accomplishments immediately following the win. “This is a great field, and to come out on top here is more than enough.”