Rising talent Kim set to scale taller peaks

By Mark Lamport-Stokes

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Anthony Kim's victory at the AT&T National has propelled the American's name toward the top of a short list of players most likely to challenge Tiger Woods when the world number one returns to action.

Although any talk of a genuine rival for Woods is foolish given that very few golfers of his quality have graced the game, the sport badly needs more competition at its pinnacle.

Time is already running out for the generation of Phil Mickelson, Vijay Singh, Ernie Els and Retief Goosen to make a sustained challenge at the top and fans are now looking at younger guns such as Adam Scott, Sergio Garcia and now Kim.

Long trumpeted as perhaps the best young American player to emerge since the remarkable Woods, Kim has vaulted into the limelight with two impressive victories on the 2008 PGA Tour.

In May aged 22, he became the circuit's youngest winner in more than six years by romping to a five-stroke win at the Wachovia Championship.

Four starts later aged 23, he triumphed by two shots at the AT&T National, joining Woods, Mickelson and fellow American Kenny Perry as the only multiple champions this season.

Kim's success on Sunday at Congressional Country Club lifted him to a career-high 14th in the world rankings and to fifth in the Tour's money list with earnings of $3,256,622.

More significantly, though, his second victory of the year fulfilled a prediction made by double major winner Mark O'Meara six months earlier.