Kim - a new John Daly?

By Neville LecK Last updated: 15th October 2009

The last thing Robert Allenby expected on Sunday was for Anthony Kim to come out firing at the top his game.

Not after what he had been told by friends who said they saw Kim arriving back at his US team hotel at around 4 am in the morning, and in Allenby's words, "walking sideways".

And this just five hours before he was due to tee-off in Sunday's final round of singles at the Presidents Cup at Harding Park..

But the 24-year-old Asian-American did, in fact, come out firing and went on to sweep Allenby away 5 & 3 and take his record at Harding Park to an impressive three wins and one loss.

That's not too shabby for a man Allenby later described as golf's new John Daly after suggesting somewhat sarcastically that maybe he and most other professional golfers had it all wrong.

"Maybe we should all adopt Anthony Kim's theory," Allenby said. "Get home at 4 o'clock and then go shoot a 6-under."

When asked by reporters if he was talking off the record, Allenby said no, they could repeat what he said.

"I don't care. Ask his playing partners. Ask his team. He is the loosest cannon in that (the US) team."

Kim, meanwhile, expressed surprise, when asked to comment on Allenby's assertion and described it "as absolutely false".

He claimed he had dined with the other team members on Saturday night, met friends for 20 minutes afterwards and had then gone "straight to my room".

Continuing his denial, Kim asked: "He said that today? Wow! That's pretty surprising..I hope that was a joke."

Advised it was not, he added: "I'm actually pretty surprised that he said that. I was in tip-top shape coming into today."

Kim went on to refute reports that he'd been asked to leave a US team function earlier in the week, claiming he had left the team room to return to his own room because he was sweating and did not feel well.

But US team captain Fred Couples confirmed on Sunday night that he and his special assistant, Michael Jordan, had told Kim in the team room one evening this week to either make himself more presentable or go back to his room.

Kim, said Couples, went back to his room.

Couples suggested that because of his age, Kim had initially tended to keep to himself; that he was something of a free spirit.

"He's so much younger than everybody else. He certainly didn't want to hang around with Kenny Perry and me and I didn't expect him to sit around and talk to the wives."

But as the week went on and other players coaxed him to spend more time in the team room, Kim came around and began to enjoy himself more and more.

Enough, it seems, to have been able to tell Couples and his team-mates by the end of the week that he had really enjoyed the camaraderie that had existed between the US players and he in fact was presented with one of the captain's limited number of Jordan jerseys handed out to special achievers.

Kim got it for the part he had played with Jim Furyk in winning a tough fourballs match against Angel Canberra and Adam Scott on Saturday afternoon.

Two of the other four jerseys went to Tiger Woods and Steve Stricker for their crucial, fight-back foursomes win against Tim Clark and Mike Weir on Saturday morning and the other jersey went to Amy Mickelson for coming up to San Francisco from her home in San Diego to cheer on the team, despite her current battle with breast cancer.

Right now, Kim. it seems, is an enigma who could go either way.

He started his career in 2006 with a reputation for having loads of talent, but too little discipline and dedication.

That changed last year as a new work ethic was brought into his game and he won the Wachovia Championships and the AT&T National for a career best year that brought in $4.65 million and the promise of more wins to come.

It hasn't happened this year.

He's had a second at the Mercedes Benz Championship and a couple of third place finishes that have helped take his earnings to within a couple of hundred dollars of $2 million.

He has also had a successful Presidents Cup but he hasn't looked the force he was last year and in the light of what Allenby has said, you have to wonder if, in fact, he is on a bit of a John Daly slide.

It would be a great pity if he is.

It's a sin to waste the kind of talent he possesses.

Neville LecK