Anthony Kim became one of the youngest players to win a PGA Tour event when he triumphed at the Wachovia Championships in Charlotte, North Carolina.
At 22 years and 10 months, Kim closed with 69 for a four-day total of 16-under 277 and a five-stroke victory over former British Open winner Ben Curtis.
Sean O’Hair won the John Deere Classic in 2005, the last under-23 golfer to win on the Tour. Kim is one month younger, though he admitted that he could never have foreseen himself in this situation a year ago.
Back than, he was afflicted with a severe case of slothfulness. Kim described himself as an immature kid and such was his indolence that he would even refuse to perform practice swings before a shot. He said on the Tour website:
“I think if I had won last year, my practicing would have gone down to even less, and there wasn’t much to go down. I might have been playing on the Hooters Tour. It might have been the best thing for me, just to get slapped in the face and realize that I can’t win out here without practicing and giving it my all and focusing on every golf shot and on every practice round.â€
Curtis finished strongly with 65 for his total of 277 while one stroke back, on 278, was American Jason Bohn. Australian Robert Allenby shot 66 in the final round for 279 and fourth place. Phil Mickelson was tied for 12 on 283.
An even younger winner emerged on LPGA Tour, but it was her sixth win as a pro, not her first. Paula Creamer, 21, ended Mexican world number one Lorena Ochoa’s winning streak by taking victory at the SemGroup Championship at Broken Arrow, Texas.
Creamer needed two sudden-death play-off holes to beat fellow American Juli Inkster after both golfers finished on two-under 282. Creamer closed with 72 while Inkster gave herself a shot at the title with 70.
Last week, Creamer lost in the first extra-hole to Annika Sorenstam at the Stanford International Pro-Am in Florida. Having lost the lead on the 71st hole, she was determined not to throw it away this week. She said on the LPGA website:
“I was not going to lose this week. I was going to win this golf tournament, and I did in the play-off. Unfortunately, it had to go into a play-off, but I can tell you I was 120 per cent prepared going into that from last week.â€
Ochoa had won her previous four starts and was hoping to make it six victories in seven tournaments so far this season.
Despite a strong weekend, she had to settle for a tie for fifth place on 287, five strokes behind Creamer and Inkster.
Third place went to Korean Jang Jeong and Angela Stanford, who were four strokes behind the leaders on 286. Jang finished with 68 while Stanford scored 71.
On the European Tour, Peter Lawrie made it three wins in a row for Irishmen with his play-off victory over Ignacio Garrido at the Spanish Open at Seville.
Lawrie made a brilliant fairway bunker shot on the second extra hole to deny Garrido, the overnight leader whose father Antonio had won the event in 1972.
Last week, Northern Ireland’s Darren Clarke won at the Asian Open and, before that, Damien McGrane won his first title at the China Open.
Lawrie completed the Irish hat-trick in dramatic fashion, with four birdies in his final six holes putting him in contention.
Though Garrido forced a play-off with a 30-foot birdie on the 72nd hole, he fumbled the second extra after hitting the green pin high but watching the ball spin back into water.
Garrido eventually got on to the green in four but all Lawrie had to do was two-putt to claim the victory.
