Kim the best 20something? Not yet, but probably soon

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Anthony Kim defeated Sergio Garcia in a Singles match Sunday at Valhalla.

ATLANTA -- Anthony Kim won't claim the FedExCup this week, unless he manages to reprogram the navigation system in Vijay Singh's courtesy car with a faulty set of maps.

Kim may not even claim a major next year, although he'll likely be a top contender in each one he plays. The truth of the matter, though, is that 24-year-old golfers, which Kim won't even be for another nine months, generally are still too young to win majors (a certain red-shirted player on Sunday being the rare exception).

But one thing that Kim may be close to claiming -- if he hasn't already -- is being the world's best golfer under 30 years old.

Sorry, Sergio.

Since Tiger Woods turned 30 almost three years ago, 28-year-old Sergio Garcia assumed the unofficial mantle as the leading player of the 20somethings, and he's done a pretty nice job of living up to that title. After all, Garcia has won 13 titles on two tours (seven on the PGA TOUR), is the reigning PLAYERS champion, and will go into THE TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola ranked third in FedExCup points. The only thing Garcia hasn't won, of course, is a major, although he's been on the verge a number of times, most recently last month at the PGA Championship.

Meanwhile, Kim -- already with two TOUR wins to his credit -- is really just starting a career that is almost frighteningly full of promise. But he still has so much to experience, so much to learn, not the least of which is how to seal the deal on the weekend. Witness his 79-76 in the final two rounds of THE PLAYERS, or the 74-71 in the Deutsche Bank Championship earlier in this year's PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup, or his 75 in the final round of the Bell Canadian Open, all tournaments that were well within his grasp after 36 holes. His final-round stroke average of 70.9 this year is, in fact, the highest of any of his four averages per round.

And Kim still must find a better way to deal with the kind of developments that can throw off his game, such as the windy conditions that he faced this year at the Open Championship. He admitted falling into some bad habits overseas, and it took awhile before he could straighten things out.

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In many ways, Anthony Kim was the leader of the U.S. Ryder Cup team.

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So on the surface, it seems weird, even unfair, to consider Kim as a better 20something than Garcia. After all, even though Kim has two wins this year at age 23, don't forget that Garcia won two times in 2001 back when he was 21.

But perhaps their Sunday Singles leadoff match at the Ryder Cup was an unofficial passing of the torch.

Kim was everything Garcia epitomized (at least until this week) at the Ryder Cup -- confident, energetic, enthusiastic, almost defiant, and perhaps a bit intimidating to his opponents. Kim wanted to be paired with Phil Mickelson, who entered Valhalla still looking for that one teammate who could lift his game in Four-Balls and Foursomes (Mickelson wanted Kim, too, as did many of the other American players). Then on Sunday, Kim asked U.S. Captain Paul Azinger if he could go out early, knowing full well there was a chance he'd be facing a heavy hitter such as Garcia if the Europeans hoped to get off to a quick start.

"I felt like I could get some points on the board," Kim said matter of factly.

Azinger, of course, didn't hesitate. He sent Kim off first -- one of the many smart moves 'Zinger made in bringing back the Ryder Cup to the U.S.

But for Kim, the win itself was not the most impressive thing. It was how he so thoroughly beat Garcia. He established control early, taking a 1-up lead early with a birdie at the second hole. He stayed solid and kept the pressure on as Garcia self-destructed with bogeys later in the front nine. Then he ended the match with four consecutive threes to win 5 & 4, handing Garcia his worst loss in what had been, until Valhalla, an amazing Ryder Cup career.

Afterward, one member of the press said point-blank: "I think the U.S. just found its Sergio."

Meanwhile, Garcia was off his game, and surprisingly listless, all week. Only one time did he display any fire, that being on Saturday afternoon when he holed a long putt for birdie on the eighth hole. But that fire was immediately doused by Steve Stricker, who holed a long birdie putt of his own to halve the hole and keep the Americans in the lead.

"Every time we did something, they did something on top of us," Garcia said, all but shaking his head in frustration.

Both Kim and Garcia will be at East Lake this week, seeking to put an exclamation point to their nice runs in the Playoffs. Garcia started out with two top-fives, including that fantastic playoff loss to Singh at The Barclays. Kim tied for third at the BMW Championship and 12th at The Barclays.

Perhaps there will be a battle within the battle this week, the old young gun and the very young young gun going at it. We can only hope so.

It could be a tremendous rivalry, Garcia vs. Kim. Two players who are five years apart in age but possess similar ability that one day might help separate them from the pack.

Hmm, remind you of another pair of players who are five years apart? Such as, oh, Woods and Mickelson. Oh, and the younger one in that battle currently has the edge.

You may not be willing to pronouce Kim as the best 20something right now. Maybe Garcia's still the guy. But here's a simple solution -- first one to a major wins.