Capelle On Golf

Anthony Kim must have felt on Friday that he was on a bungee cord. He started the day tied for first at -6. After seven holes he was five over for the day and at -1 for the event. This put him right above the eventual cut line.

You could already hear the excuses (reasons) for his poor play and his missed cut. Among them would have been his ghastly second round tee time of 4:35 which, when you allow for jet lag, was really somewhere between that time and 9:35 London time – which Kim was on last Sunday.

But maybe this kid really is made of different stuff, because somehow he pulled himself together and did what champions do by fighting back. The proof:

443-454-344-35–443-543-445-36-71 Par
653-554-444-40–433-343-333-29-69 Kim

That’s five over on the front, seven under on the back nine. After sinking to a near weekend off, the cord snapped back and Kim exploded on the back nine with three birdies and two eagles.

His Tigeresque scoring binge has brought him right back into contention. He’s five back of Chez Reavie, a non winner on tour, and only two behind Eric Axley, who’s in second. His stats also look good. He’s leading the field in driving distance and is tied for ninth in accuracy, which is an unheard of combination. He’s also tied for second in putts per GIR, which is a sign that he’s hitting it close and making putts.

Kim learned a lesson on Friday and early Saturday morning when he played the last three holes in four under, and that is to never give up. While he may or may not win this event, his comeback in round two should pay big dividends for a long time to come because it’s now woven into the fabric of his increasingly formidable mental game.