Quail Hollow produces big winners -- check out victories by Vijay Singh, Jim Furyk, Tiger Woods, Anthony Kim, Tiger Woods and Rickie Fowler.

Anthony Kim will be out of competition on the PGA TOUR for the next nine to 12 months after have surgery on the Achilles tendon in his left leg. Kim injured the tendon doing sprints in training in San Diego. He had surgery on the following day, June 30, and will be in a boot for four months. Kim last played in the Wells Fargo Championship, where he picked his breakthrough win in 2008. He withdrew after the first round at Quail Hollow due to pain in his right wrist and elbow, as well as his left thumb which required surgery two years earlier.

By Brian Wacker, PGATOUR.COM

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. -- Anthony Kim will miss the next 4-5 months with tendinitis in his left forearm and pain in his right elbow after hitting a rock while playing out of the rough in the opening round of last month’s Valero Texas Open.

He will undergo treatment and rehabilitation for the injuries and hopes to be back in time to play the Fall Series. Surgery is not expected to be needed.

“I’m obviously disappointed because I’ve been fighting to get my game back on the right track and having an injury hold me back is frustrating,” Kim said in a statement. “I’ve been through this process before, though, and know that you have to put in your work with treatments to get healthy. That will be my focus for the next four or five months so I’m in a position to return healthy towards the end of the year and be fully ready for 2013.”

Kim was examined by Dr. Thomas Graham of the Cleveland Clinic -- the same doctor who reconstructed his left thumb two years ago -- following his withdrawal from the Wells Fargo Championship.

This marks the second time in the last two years Kim will miss significant time due to injury.

A month after Kim’s victory at the 2010 Shell Houston Open, he underwent surgery on his left thumb after completely tearing the ligament and was out three months, costing him a spot on the U.S. Ryder Cup team.

It was a tough blow to Kim, who two years earlier was an integral part of a U.S. victory with a 2-1-1 record that included a 5 and 4 thumping of Sergio Garcia in singles play.

This time, the injury could cost Kim even more.

Kim has made only two cuts in 10 starts and earned just over $33,000 this season and is 215th on the money list and 208th in the FedExCup standings. His two-year exemption for winning in Houston expires at the end of this season -- though it is likely Kim will file for a medical exemption, which would guarantee his card into 2013.

"I don't want to play golf that way," Kim said earlier this year. "It's not fun, not playing to win."

Lately, he hasn’t played at all.

Kim withdrew from each of his last three starts and in February was disqualified from the Northern Trust Open for signing an incorrect scorecard (though he would have missed the cut anyway). His best finish this season was a tie for 42 ^nd at The Honda Classic.

Six years ago, Kim’s potential and career seemed limitless.

In his first start as a professional, he shot a final-round 65 to finish second at the 2006 Valero Texas Open.

Less than two years later, Kim won the Wells Fargo Championship by five shots for his first career victory, then captured the AT&T National later that summer to become the first American under 25 since Tiger Woods to win at least twice in the same season.

In 2009, Kim set a Masters record for the most birdies in a round with 11 on the second day. The following year, he won in Houston and nearly won the Masters, too, with a birdie-birdie-eagle-birdie run in the final round en route to a 65 and a third-place finish.

That’s when the injuries started to pile up.

Kim tried to play through his thumb injury in 2009 and also battled shoulder problems.

"The injury did make so many things go bad in my golf swing," Kim said in February.

In his first start back following the thumb operation, Kim finished near the bottom of the leaderboard at the World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational, tying for 76 ^th. He missed his next four cuts, and his career has been mostly in a downward spiral since.

”There was the disappointment of not playing well and going home and not knowing what to do and just hanging out and wasting time,” Kim said in an interview with PGATOUR.COM during The Honda Classic. “That's not the type of person I am to just go home and waste time, and that's what I've been doing."

Since his last victory, Kim has 19 missed cuts in 42 starts. He’s also withdrawn four times and been disqualified twice.

By Brian Wacker, PGATOUR.COM

Anthony Kim, who earlier this week withdrew from the Wells Fargo Championship with an injury to his right wrist, will also miss next week’s PLAYERS Championship.

No timeline is set for Kim’s return, but he will see a doctor early next week.

Kim has suffered from a myriad of injuries in recent months, including ones to his elbow and left thumb. He underwent surgery for the latter two years ago and missed three months of the season, costing him a chance to earn a spot on the Ryder Cup team, and has struggled since.

With just over $33,000 in earnings in nine starts, and his two-year exemption for winning the 2010 Shell Houston Open up after this year, Kim is in danger of losing his PGA TOUR card. He could, however, apply for a medical exemption for next year.

“I've tried to play through the injuries, but I know from experience that it will only make matters worse," Kim said in a statement Friday. "I'm going to get it looked at and do what I need to do to get back to full health."

Kim has withdrawn from each of his last three starts, including at the Shell Houston, where he shot an opening-round 79, and the Valero Texas Open the week before after striking a rock while trying to hit out of a bush. He’s also missed the cut four times this year and was disqualified for an incorrect scorecard another time. His best finish this season was a tie for 42nd at The Honda Classic.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Anthony Kim, who won his first PGA TOUR event at the Wells Fargo Championship in 2008, has withdrawn from this year’s renewal with a nagging wrist injury.

Kim who shot 74 in the first round and did not tee off in the second, has been experiencing pain in his right wrist and elbow, as well as his left thumb, which required surgery two years ago this week.

Kim, who said he was grateful for the support of the tournament and the fans, plans to assess the situation before deciding whether he will be able to compete in THE PLAYERS Championship next week. UPDATE: The final field has been released and Kim is not competing in THE PLAYERS.

“I couldn’t be more disappointed to have to withdraw from this event,” Kim said in a statement. “… I’ve tried to play through the injuries but I know from experience that it will only make matters worse. I’m going to get it looked at and do what I need to do to get back to full health.”

The pairings have been unveiled for this week’s PGA TOUR Matchups Game on Facebook. You can check out the Matchups for the Shell Houston Open below, or on the PGA TOUR’s Facebook page.

Participants have until 6 a.m. ET Thursday to make their picks. Log on to the PGA TOUR Facebook page and click the Matchups link to make your picks for this week, or to sign up.

GO TO FACEBOOK PAGE TO PLAY MATCHUPS GAME

Phil Mickelson vs. Fred Couples	Phil defends his title while Fred won his last TOUR event here
Johnson Wagner vs. Kyle Stanley	It's a battle of FedExCup leaders current and former
Graeme McDowell vs. Lee Westwood	These Europeans bring Texas-sized game to the Lone Star State
Ernie Els vs. Anthony Kim	The Big Easy takes on the 2010 champion at Redstone
Rickie Fowler vs. Bud Cauley	2010 Rookie of the Year vs. an early favorite for the 2012 award

The tee times for the first round of this week’s The Honda Classic have been released. CLICK HERE for the tee times. Use the space below to comment about the pairings at PGA National.

Here’s a look at some of the notable groups in the first two rounds:

Jim Furyk/Y.E. Yang/Henrik Stenson
Yang has owned PGA National in recent years, with a win and a second-place finish.

Kyle Stanley/Keegan Bradley/Rory McIlroy
Three of the best players in the world under the age of 30, and all three bomb the ball.

Mark Wilson/Rory Sabbatini/Camilo Villegas
These three players won at PGA National in 2007, 2011 and 2010, respectively. Villegas and Wilson squared off in a four-man playoff (with Boo Weekley and Jose Conceres) on a steamy Monday in 2007, which Wilson won.

Lee Westwood/Ian Poulter/Tiger Woods
No introduction needed for this trio. Tiger makes his first start at PGA National. This is the third consecutive year Westwood has teed if up here. Tied for ninth in 2010.

John Huh/Charl Schwartzel/Ernie Els
The PGA TOUR's newest winner (Huh) immediately graduates to an A-list tee time with a pair of major champions.

Anthony Kim/Mike Weir/Mark Calcavecchia
Can Kim and Weir get their games turned around at the start of the Florida Swing? And don't count out Calcavecchia, who has lived in Palm Beach for many years. He tied for fourth here in 2008.

Now, it’s your turn: Which groups are you most interested in following this week?

By Brian Wacker, PGATOUR.COM

There are only two weeks left for players outside the top 64 in the Official World Golf Ranking to qualify for the World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship Feb 22-26 in Marana, Ariz. In other words, Vijay Singh and Padraig Harrington, among others, have some work to do.

Singh and Harrington are 69th and 90th, respectively, and in need of strong performances in one or more likely both of the next two weeks. Singh is in the field for this week’s Waste Management Phoenix Open, while Harrington has the week off.

Last year, Singh also failed to qualify.

Other notables on the outside looking in include  Sean O’Hair (68th), Sony Open in Hawaii winner Johnson Wagner (70th) and last year’s Wells Fargo Championship winner Lucas Glover, who is 77th in the world and has yet to play this year after withdrawing from the season-opening Hyundai Tournament of Champions with a knee injury.

The player currently on the bubble at No. 64 is the Netherlands’ Joost Luiten. However with Phil Mickelson having already said that he plans to take that week off, the field would then extend to the 65th player in the world -- currently Rory Sabbatini.

Also among those outside the top 64: Kyle Stanley. The hard-luck loser of the Farmers Insurance Open is 87th in the world. Had he won at Torrey Pines, he would have moved up to 64th.

Others in more dire circumstances include Branden Grace, a two-time winner on the European Tour this year who has only climbed to 93rd; Camilo Villegas (99th); Anthony Kim (102nd); and Stewart Cink (138th).

Only once in Cink’s career has he failed to qualify for the WGC-Accenture Match Play Champisonhip, a tournament he’s been dominant in with six trips to at least the quarterfinals. On four of those occasions Cink reached at least the semifinals, including from 2008 to 2010 when he finished second, third and tied for fifth.

LA QUINTA, Calif. -- Anthony Kim told the media on Wednesday that he wanted to relax and have more fun on the golf course this year.

Kim, who went to high school in La Quinta, is coming off his worst year in terms of earnings and top-10s. But the three-time TOUR champ ended 2011 by finishing second once and third twice overseas and said he hopes to build on that this year.

"I realized that if I just let it go, my natural ability will take over and I'll be able to get the ball in the hole," Kim said. "That's what I'm good at. I need to just let it go, be free, and that's how I play my best golf."

Looks like Kim struggled in that quest a little on his first nine holes Thursday, starting on the back nine of the Nicklaus Course and opening with two bogeys. He got those shots back with birdies on Nos. 14 and 16 but closed with two more bogeys to turn in 2 over.

The front nine, though, has been a bit more fun. Kim just made his second eagle at the eighth hole and is 2 under for the tournament. He tied for third the last time he played in the Humana Challenge in 2008.

We’re six holes into Anthony Kim’s final round and he’s even par and still leads by two, though Brendon de Jonge has bounced back from his third-round 72 and is now within just two after playing his first dozen holes in 3 under. The problem for de Jonge, however, is that he might run out of holes before he can catch Kim.

Bill Haas, Gary Woodland and Webb Simpson are all two off the pace as well. Though Haas is the only one of those three under par on his round -- 1 under through eight holes -- Simpson has done a nice job recovering from a rocky start.

Simpson got off to a shaky start with a double bogey on the opening hole, where he pulled his tee shot way left before struggling around the green. He bounced back with a birdie on the next hole but gave right back on No. 4, where after hitting it into trouble left off the tee he had to pitch back to the fairway. But then Simpson bounced back with birdies on Nos. 5 and 6.

One other item of note: The third-rounder leader has held on for the win 18 of 30 times this year, most recently Chris Kirk at the Viking Classic a few weeks ago. That’s good news for Kim of course.