Kim looking for fresh start at Northern Trust Open

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Anthony Kim used only 26 putts in the second round despite the rainy conditions at Riviera.

PACIFIC PALISADES, Calif. -- The 2009 season was "disappointing." A bit of a "step back," even.

Those are Anthony Kim's words, not ours. But given the 24-year-old's enormous talent and barely-tapped potential, his rather blunt assessment appears spot-on.

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Kim took a much-needed step forward, though, at the Northern Trust Open on Friday when he fired a 66 that left him at 5 under, firmly entrenched among the top 10 on the leaderboard. The round was his lowest since he shot 66 in the third round of RBC Canadian Open last July.

"It felt great, just excited to be playing on the PGA TOUR this year and get my first tournament under my belt," Kim said. "Hopefully I can just keep building off this. I've been working very hard the last couple weeks and it's starting to pay off."

The final number certainly was impressive -- particularly given the cold, steady rain that fell at Riviera throughout the second round. Kim made eight birdies and dropped just three shots to par while hitting all but three soggy fairways and five wet greens.

More than once over the last 12 months, though, Kim has talked about rededicating himself to the game. And given his hit-and-mostly-miss 2009 campaign, some wonder whether that little boy crying wolf in one of Aesop's fables had been reincarnated wearing a Nike swoosh.

Time will tell. But Kim is clearly out to prove those people wrong -- and what better place for the young man who won twice in 2008 to start than right here in his hometown?

"I think handling some of the questions that I get and some of the feelings that come from playing badly, poorly, last year have made me grow up a little bit faster," he said. "I thought everything came a lot easier than it did, and in 2008 I really couldn't do too many things wrong. I felt like every move I made in 2009 wasn't the right one.

"So I think looking back on those things, I'll be able to reach back and learn from those mistakes that I made last year and definitely use that to my advantage this year."

There were times in 2009 that Kim's driver was so erratic he'd hit irons off the tee to avoid the trouble lurking right and left. He dropped 93 spots to 164th in greens in regulation, too. Those bogeys and double bogeys took a toll on his emotions and sent his scoring average soaring to nearly a stroke-and-a-half higher than it had been the previous year.

But even as he faces up to the criticism -- implied and otherwise, coming from the media and some peers, as well -- Kim knows the reality is that he just had one bad year. Now it's up to him to make sure the slide doesn't become precipitous.

"I'm planning on having a long career out here on the PGA TOUR," Kim said. "It was a step back, but I think that I learned quite a bit from last year. ... I think I've grown as a person and as a golfer, and now it's just time this year to go out and do what I can do."

Kim's made changes, to be sure. An entourage that would have made Vincent Chase proud has been trimmed to a personal assistant and a new caddy, Brody Flanders, a former teammate at Oklahoma who also happens to be his best friend. He's clearly ready to put 2009 behind him.

"What I did last year was so disappointing," Kim said. "(It) really it affected my confidence, and I think I want a positive attitude, get out here and work as hard as I can. I'm going to win golf tournaments.

"It's just a matter if I get a couple breaks to go my way."

Kim's playing partner, Steve Stricker, was impressed on Friday. Stricker beat his Presidents Cup teammate by one stroke and stands 10 under, tied for the lead when darkness suspended play. But Kim was in control of his emotions and his game all day.

"He does a lot of good things," Stricker said. "It's fun to watch. He's got a lot of talent. I think we were kind of pulling each other along. ... It's always fun when a couple guys are playing well."

Kim, for his part, was struck by Stricker's short game. The veteran took just 22 putts and over the course of the first two days, Stricker chipped in once for eagle, twice for birdie and once for par.

"He obviously putts well. That's Steve's game," Kim said. "... I think he chipped in maybe three or four times, and that's pretty fun to watch. I'd like to start doing that myself, so I've got to obviously be out here on the range a little bit more."

And show the world those days of calling wolf are over.