As a 10-year-old growing up in Los Angeles, in those final hours of twilight as he waited for his father to pick up from the golf course, Kim imagined he was in the final pairing with Woods and had a 10-foot putt for the victory, with the world’s No. 1 player watching.
“Man, they were going in a lot,” Kim said, laughing.
He can only hope fantasy meets reality today in the AT&T National.
Kim kept his cool after a couple of blunders at Congressional, saving par from 84 yards with a creative chip he had been too scared to try in competition, then making birdie on the 16th that led to a 2-under-par 68 and his name atop the leaderboard.
Woods, having lost a three-shot lead in a span of two holes with a double bogey on the 11th, found one last birdie with a putt up the slope of the 16th green to tap-in range that allowed him to salvage a roller-coaster round at 70.
That gave him a share of the lead with Kim at 10-under 210, and gave Congressional a Sunday showdown a bustling gallery has been craving since the event began Thursday. Woods is tournament host. Kim is the defending champion.
Woods is the guy who made golf cool, a multiracial talent who shattered records during his rise to No. 1. Kim, 24, is perfecting cool, a bundle of energy who practices with music blaring from his iPod.
They are separated by just under 10 years, but this generation gap seems wider than that. Woods also grew up in Southern California and stayed late on the practice green dreaming of the putt to win a major. And whom was he trying to beat? Jack Nicklaus. Arnold Palmer. Ben Hogan. Sam Snead. Told about Kim’s tale of trying to beat him, Woods offered a wry smile.
“I’m aging,” he said. “That’s what that means.”
He’s been around long enough to have built a 45-3 record on the PGA Tour when he has at least a share of the 54-hole lead, a statistic that has defined why it’s so tough to beat him.
Kim never has played in the same pairing with Woods, nor has Kim ever finished higher than Woods in any of the tournaments they have played since Kim joined the PGA Tour three years ago. But the kid has an idea what he’ll see.
“I expect he’s going to be wearing a red shirt and be out there ready to go,” Kim said. “And I’ll be ready, as well.”
They both would do well do look over their shoulders, for this is far from a two-man race. Michael Allen, who is 0-for-336 in his PGA Tour career but perfect on the Champions Tour when he won the Senior PGA Championship earlier this year, made seven birdies in a round of 65, the day’s best score.
Allen, 50, has won on the Nationwide Tour, the PGA European Tour and the Champions Tour. He was at 9-under 201 with Cameron Beckman (66), who chipped in for eagle on the par-5 16th.
A dozen players were separated by four shots going into the final round, including Jim Furyk (69) and Rod Pampling (71) at 8-under 202, and U.S. Open champion Lucas Glover (68) another shot behind.
Kim is an explosive player regarded as the next American star with the way he won last year at Quail Hollow and Congressional, then energized the U.S. team in a Ryder Cup victory. Kim won last year with a final-round 65, and when he made the final putt for the victory, Woods was watching - from his couch in Florida, recovering from knee surgery.
