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BETHESDA, Md. (AP) -Anthony Kim was waiting by the scoring trailer for the other golfers to finish, his victory at Tiger Woods' tournament, the AT&T National, seemingly well in hand.
Suddenly, there was a pop. A muscular man had unleashed a champagne cork and was madly chasing Kim, trying to spray him with the bottle.
The man was former Green Beret and noted sports therapist Jim Weathers, who has spent this year working Kim's muscles into shape before and after every round. Yet, when asked why his client is now one of the hottest young golfers on the tour, Weathers focused not on biceps but instead on partying.
"The guy's staying in at night," Weathers said. "He's taking it very seriously."
Kim couldn't agree more. On Sunday, he became the first American under 25 since Woods to win at least twice in the same year on the PGA Tour, shooting a bogey-free round of 5-under 65 for a two-shot victory over Fredrik Jacobson.
"I think it's easier to mature faster as a golfer, but definitely, as a person, I feel like I've come a long way," said Kim, who turned 23 last month. "I'm making a lot better decisions off the course. I'm staying away from bad people and staying away from bad places."
The victory moved Kim up to No. 6 in the Ryder Cup standings, virtually assuring himself a spot on the American team in September, and put him on a short list of potential challengers to Woods when the world's top golfer returns from knee surgery.
Woods apparently concurs with that assessment. Unable to be at Congressional to present the trophy, he called Kim to offer congratulations.
"He told me to just keep working hard and keep it up, and the sky's the limit, and there's no reason to stop now," Kim said.
Kim grew up idolizing Woods and learned a valuable lesson from him late last season at the BMW Championship. Kim showed up at Cog Hill with enough time to wolf down a breakfast burrito, rap a few putts and go to the first tee. He noticed that Woods, scheduled to tee off 11 minutes ahead of him, had been on the course for some time getting ready for the round.
Woods wound up winning the tournament. Kim finished 22 shots behind.
"That was quite a low point in my golf career, to feel like I wasn't doing myself justice to act that way and prepare that way," Kim said. "I just took a step back and said, 'If I'm going to do this, I'm going to do it the right way.' And I've been doing it ever since."
Kim's first win was a five-shot victory at Quail Hollow in the Wachovia Championship. Now he's won at another marquee course, coming from three shots behind in the final round and building a four-shot lead on Congressional's back nine until a late charge by Jacobson.
