When Anthony Kim steps onto the Plantation Course for the first time in a couple weeks, the potential that now accompanies him everywhere he goes should fit right in with the vast expanse of the 7,411-yard layout itself.
Kim, whatever label is applied - Ryder Cup hero, fourth-place finisher on the Tiger Woods-less FedExCup playoff list, two-time PGA Tour winner, 12th-ranked golfer in the world, winner of $4.6 million in prize money in 2008 to finish sixth on the money list - is a fresh face for a sport in need of new challengers to the laid-up, rehabilitating Woods.
Kim will be at Kapalua for the PGA Tour season-opening, winners-only, $5.6 million Mercedes-Benz Championship, which begins on Jan. 8.
Kim knows he has taken over the mantle of ''Who is the guy that might offer Woods some competition?'' with the way he has burst onto the scene in the last two years.
At the end of the 2006 season, Kim had played two Nationwide Tour events and was ranked 533rd on the Official World Golf Rankings. He made 20 of 26 cuts on the PGA Tour in 2007, with four top-10 finishes, to rise to 75th in the rankings.
Now, with the winning Ryder Cup experience behind him - he had a 2-1-1 individual record in the U.S.'s 16 1/2-11 1/2 win over Europe at Valhalla Golf Club in September - he knows he is a marked man.
''Just the flavor of the month, it feels like,'' Kim said last week at the Chevron World Challenge, the offseason event Woods hosts. ''You know, whoever plays good that week is the next guy to challenge Tiger. When I came out here in '07, I felt like I was ready to take on the world, and I wasn't. But I'm learning. I'm learning how to schedule. I'm learning how to practice. I'm learning how to do different things. It's getting me ready to at least compete or try to compete with him. And I think if I keep progressing, there's not really any reason for me not to get to that point where I can compete with him.''
And even without Woods here for the fourth straight year after he played in the first seven Mercedes-Benz Championships at the Plantation Course, Kim knows that the limited-field, prestigious tournament is now part of the deal for him.
He was one of five multiple-winners on tour last year, with Woods (four wins), Kenny Perry (three), Padraig Harrington (two) and Phil Mickelson (two). Kim was just the third player under 24 years old to win more than once in a season this decade, joining Adam Scott (2004) and Sergio Garcia (2001).
''It's definitely an extra honor,'' Kim said of being at Kapalua. ''To be in a field where guys obviously know how to win and have proven themselves to be winners at least once the year before, it's really nice. It's going to be a great, great field and an even greater start to my year.''
Kim is trying to overcome a sprained ankle that he battled for the last couple months of the 2008 season. The undulations, trade winds and gargantuan length of the Plantation Course could challenge him more than others when tournament week arrives Jan. 5.
''I am just hoping I can walk it,'' he said. ''I've had a bum ankle for a while, but I am sure it will be fine by then. I haven't ever been there, but I've heard it is one of the toughest walks of the year. I am just going to go and enjoy the scenery I've heard so much about and try to play some good golf.''
The 5-foot-10, 160-pounder turned professional in 2006 after three All-American seasons at the University of Oklahoma after growing up in Los Angeles. He has fond memories of the few times he has played golf in the 50th state.
''I have played twice in Hawaii and I won my first college tournament there,'' he said. ''So, I would say that Hawaii is a very special place to me. I don't know too much about Hawaii other than the wind is going to blow like crazy. But, I am really looking forward to it. It should be a great golf tournament.''
His wins at the Wachovia Championship and AT&T National at legendary Pebble Beach in 2008 have him excited for 2009.
''Winning has definitely helped my confidence,'' Kim said. ''I have always felt like I could win out here, but to actually get it done is a totally different story. I actually got it done this year, twice actually, and I can only say that I hope I can put a few more of those under my belt.''
His belt includes a buckle that has ''AK'' prominently displayed.
It is all part of the persona that has led some golf pundits to label him young, brash and cocky. He thinks that changed a little after the Ryder Cup win in September.
''Maybe. I mean, it's hard for me to think about what everybody else is saying,'' he said. ''I wouldn't know what to think of myself. I know that I am a competitor. When I am inside the ropes, I want to win. It doesn't matter who I play against, how I'm feeling, what the weather is, I just want to win. That's the main goal.
''If people want to take it as brash or cocky or whatever they want to say, that's fine with me. I mean, I'm trying to improve on the golf course, but I'm trying to improve my image as well. I mean, it's important to me what my friends and my parents think. When my mom says, 'You could tone it down a little bit,' I'm probably going to tone it down. Really that's all I'm thinking about, trying to play the best golf I can.''
Kim, 23, knows that the sky in the limit.
''If I keep progressing, I'm not going to set any limits on myself,'' he said. ''This is just a game. I'm out here having fun. If I can keep having fun, I know the scores will keep coming down and I'll be ready to play against anybody.''
Even as things have changed quickly for the phenom, he was still himself this offseason.
''Well, I'd like to tell you that I just grinded and worked out, did some schoolwork that I had been missing, but I didn't do any of that,'' he said. ''I laid around at home. Really, I hurt my ankle about six weeks ago or seven weeks ago, then hurt my jaw in New Zealand. I was pretty accident prone for a couple weeks there. I've just been trying to get healthy. I just started working with Craig Davies, and he's really helped me improve my body. We've been working out quite a bit the last week and a half, two weeks. Just trying to get my body ready for the '09 season, because I was pretty tired at the end of the year and didn't have everything that I wanted.
''So if I can keep improving in those parts, even though it's not directly related to golf, it will make me a better player, and that's what I'm looking for.''
* Robert Collias is at rcollias@mauinews.com
