A mature Kim has grown into a PGA TOUR superstar

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Anthony Kim played a big role in leading the Americans to their first Ryder Cup victory since 1999.

What will you remember about the 2008 season? That was the simple question we asked PGATOUR.COM staffers and freelance contributors, who responded with a series of short essays that we will post during November (click here for the archive link).

He made the testy 7-footer for par and stalked off the 14th green, already mentally preparing for his next tee shot.

Anthony Kim was so focused that he was halfway down the hill before he realized what had happened. He had just beaten Sergio Garcia 5 and 4 in the crucial opening Singles match on Sunday at the Ryder Cup.

Kim later called that afternoon at Valhalla the "best day of my golfing life so far." Better than that win at the Wachovia Championship in May. More exciting than his victory at the AT&T National two months later.

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The 23-year-old phenom certainly packed a lot into 2008. He won his first two PGA TOUR events. He contributed 2 ½ points to the United States victory at the Ryder Cup to help snap a three-match losing streak for the Americans.

Most important of all -- and he'd be the first to tell you this -- Anthony Kim grew up.

He quit partying and got acquainted with the practice range instead. What many perceived as attitude was replaced by action, as Kim finally went out and delivered what everyone knew he could.

Kim remembers distinctly when he knew he had to make a change.

He was playing in the 2007 BMW Championship, which would be Kim's third and final event in the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup that year. He had rushed out to Cog Hill and grabbed a breakfast burrito when he ran into Tiger Woods.

Woods was playing in the group ahead of Kim that Friday. He had just finished his practice session as Kim arrived at the course. "I still had not seen my locker and I had not even changed my shoes," Kim said sheepishly.

The game's No. 1 player went on to win the tournament. Kim, who only had time to hit a couple of putts before he teed off that day, got "drummed" and tied for 52nd.

"That was quite a low point," Kim acknowledged. "And to feel like I wasn't doing myself justice to act that way, and prepare that way, I just took a step backward 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."

Ten months later, as he waited by the 18th green for the trophy ceremony at the AT&T National, tournament director Greg McLaughlin handed Kim his cell phone. On the other end was the event's host, Tiger Woods, calling to congratulate the winner.

"He told me the sky's the limit and there's no reason to stop now," Kim said. "I get chills up and down my back when I think about it because I grew up idolizing him. He is the Michael Jordan of golf and to come out 10 years after him and have this opportunity to play in his golf tournament and be on the PGA TOUR and live my dream is truly a wonderful feeling."

The son of first-generation Korean immigrants, Kim gets his will to win from his father and he's trying to channel into his mother's calm demeanor on the golf course. He is also heeding the advice of veterans like Mark O'Meara, Todd Hamilton and Jeff Sluman.

O'Meara believes Kim has "as much talent or more than any other player I've ever seen besides Tiger." When O'Meara ran into Kim at the Buick Invitational the week after Kim tied for third at the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic, Kim kept talking about the putts he missed during the final round at the Classic Club. O'Meara told him to be patient.

"You're not going to win every week," O'Meara recalled. "If you try and force it too hard, you're always going to get in your own way. So you've got to let it come to you and be patient. Then when you win, it will build on itself. You'll learn from that. Life is all about learning experiences."

Looks like Kim paid close attention to those words, doesn't it?

Helen Ross, Chief of Correspondents for PGATOUR.COM, has exhibited an endless supply of patience this year, especially when dealing with her Managing Editor.