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From PGATour.com

By Helen Ross, PGATOUR.com Chief of Correspondents

BETHESDA, Md. -- For the better part of the last two weeks, ever since Tiger Woods'' left knee was sliced open by that scalpel, sportswriters and TV''s talking heads have speculated on who would step up in his absence.

We may now have our answer.

Meet Anthony Kim, who won the AT&T National hosted by Tiger Woods on Sunday at Congressional Country Club.

The victory was the uber-talented 23-year-old''s second in his last five starts. In the last decade only Kim, Tiger Woods, Sergio Garcia and Adam Scott have won twice in a single year before their 25th birthdays.

"Winning out here is so tough that anytime you get an opportunity to be in the hunt, it feels great," acknowledged Kim, who also won the Wachovia Championship in May. "And to capitalize on the two chances I''ve had of late feels wonderful."

Kim looks to have some staying power, too. He''s already got four top-three finishes this year. He''s fifth in the FedExCup standings, fifth on the PGA Tour money list and sixth in the Ryder Cup standings, which has got to make Captain Paul Azinger ecstatic.

Make no mistake about it, this second-generation Korean-American is the real deal. Whether he is the long-awaited rival to Woods remains to be seen, but he''s certainly making a pretty strong case for himself -- even if he won''t admit it.

"I can''t answer that, because guys like Sergio and Justin Rose, there''s upcoming guys right now," Kim said candidly. "Jason Day is a great player, and there''s going to be quite a few challengers, and hopefully somebody can step up.

"I haven''t done enough to say I''m the guy. I''d like to think that I can work my way into that position. But right now, I still have a ways to go."

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