'MTV' kid Kim makes mark on PGA Tour

SOUTHPORT, England -- Anthony Kim hits the Lancashire coast of England this week, plunging into the charm and history of the British Open for the first time. Kim will play on a tradition-rich links layout, Royal Birkdale, as he competes in the 137th edition of golf's oldest championship.

But our story begins in a mall in Oklahoma.

That's where Kim, wandering one day during his sophomore year at the University of Oklahoma, came across a kiosk offering large, gaudy belt buckles. One of them bore the initials, "AK." Kim tried it on, bought it and soon started wearing it to parties on campus.

He even wore the belt buckle on PGA Tour courses last year, as a much-hyped rookie. Not all of Kim's colleagues were impressed.

"It definitely has mixed reviews, but it represents me well," he said. "I feel like that's the generation I grew up in. I bring something different than somebody who has been on tour for 20 years, as someone who grew up in the MTV world.

"I love showing that I'm (now) 23 years old and love having fun. And if somebody has a problem with it, I can't do anything about that."

This offers a tidy snapshot of Kim's attitude, which he has used to help launch himself into another stratosphere this year. He arrives at Birkdale ranked No. 13 in the world, with two victories in 2008, the Ryder Cup squarely in his sights and a growing reputation as the player most likely to challenge Tiger Woods in the years ahead.

Kim owns a remarkably complete game for a player midway through his second full season on tour. He smacks the ball into distant galaxies (9th in driving distance), putts with striking efficiency (20th in putting average) and brings the type of final-round fearlessness more often seen in players who are at least 10 years older than Kim.

His two wins, notably, came at Quail Hollow in May for the Wachovia Championship and at Congressional two weeks ago for the AT&T National. Those two courses are considered among the best on tour, and winning on highly regarded layouts is widely considered a good barometer of a player's ability.

Mark O'Meara already knew all about Kim. They played together in a "silly-season" event in December, and O'Meara came away raving about the kid's game. O'Meara called him the best young player he had seen since Woods, saying Kim's swing was even better than Woods' at the same age.

"I think he's going to be a contender here this week," O'Meara said Monday.

That might count as a stretch, given Kim's unfamiliarity with links golf, his lack of history in the Open and his frustration Monday after Royal Birkdale's front nine "beat me up" during a practice round. Then again, he's hot -- two wins in his past five starts -- and he's obviously not intimidated playing against the top players on prominent stages.

Kim grew up in Los Angeles, where he savored pickup basketball games as much as golf. His parents essentially moved him to the Palm Springs area at 16, mostly so he could work on his game and partly to keep him out of the mischief and trouble available in the big city.

He openly acknowledged his work ethic was terrible last year as a tour rookie, even though he earned more than $1.5 million. Kim learned he would need to improve his practice habits, prodigious talent and all, if he wanted to conquer the world's best players. (Once he arrived at the course so late, he had time only to devour a breakfast burrito and hit five practice putts before his tee time.)

"I really believe my game last year reflected how I was living," he said. "There were lots of double and triple bogeys. There was no point where I made pars and birdies and just played solid golf. With help of quite a few people, I've turned my life around and made right decisions off the course that have led to my good play this year."

As for the belt buckle, well, it will not disappear anytime soon. It's multiplying, actually -- Kim did a photo shoot for a clothing company last week, and the company made him a new "AK" belt buckle and sent it along a few days early. Kim wore it during the final round at Congressional, where he shot 65 to win.

This buckle was even gaudier than its predecessor -- large, oval and lined with what looked like diamond studs. And it wasn't light, either.

"It's not as heavy as the trophy," Kim said at the time, "but it's pretty heavy."

(E-mail Ron Kroichick at rkroichick@sfchronicle.com.)

(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, www.scrippsnews.com.)