Kim has caught Tiger’s eye after victory at Congressional

Tiger Woods got lucky over the weekend. No, he didn’t toss aside his crutches and start practicing again, but he had a good winner at the tournament he hosts, the AT&T; National: Anthony Kim.

The 23-year-old Kim, who was born in Los Angeles but moved to La Quinta when he was 16, is a star in the making. Or it could be that he’s already achieved star status.

The AT&T;, in Bethesda, Md., was Kim’s second victory this year (he also won the Wachovia the first weekend in May), and he has made a steady climb up the world rankings. Kim’s win at Congressional jumped him six places to a career-best 14th. He started the year ranked 74th.

Like Woods, Kim was a prodigy. He was a four-time AJGA All-American, freshman of the year at Oklahoma in 2004, a member of the 2005 winning Walker Cup team and a three-time All-American at Oklahoma before he turned pro in 2006.

Kim was second in his first pro event and everybody waited for him to break through. He has.

Although Kim weighs only 160 pounds, he pounds the ball, averaging 301 yards off the tee, tied for eighth on the PGA Tour. He also has touch -- he’s tied for 18th in putting -- and his scoring average of 69.55 is second only to Phil Mickelson’s 69.45.

Actually, Woods’ scoring average of 67.55 is best, but he hasn’t played enough rounds to qualify. And he won’t, either.

Kim’s bogey-free round of 65 Sunday was worth a two-shot victory.

He said afterward he wasn’t surprised about being regarded as a hotshot.

“Any time there’s a younger guy that plays good, there’s always a little bit of buzz that’s created and people are looking and hoping to find a guy that’s going to challenge Tiger,” Kim said.

“Right now, he’s obviously injured and not going to be out here, but it’s a time for the young guys to step up and make a statement. Hopefully other people will get to know golf besides Tiger. He’s done so much for the game, but at the same time, we need to step up.”

Woods called Kim after the tournament to congratulate him, Kim said.

“He told me to just keep working hard and keep it up and the sky’s the limit and there’s no reason to stop now.

“That means the world to me. I get chills down my back when I think about it, because I grew up idolizing him. He is the Michael Jordan of golf, and to come out 10 years after him and have this opportunity to play in his golf tournament and be on the PGA Tour and live my dream is truly a wonderful feeling.”

Tiger factor

Without Woods, the crowd at Sunday’s final round at Congressional was down about 7,000 to 30,000, according to the Washington Post. And Saturday’s third-round crowd of 22,311 was down about 15,000 from last year, the Baltimore Sun reported.

Ratings news

In a word: bad. The overnight ratings for Sunday’s fourth round of the AT&T; National on CBS were down 48%, from a 2.9 to a 1.5. The third-round overnight ratings were down 35%, from a 2.0 to a 1.3.

Meanwhile, overnight ratings on CBS for the weekend’s LPGA event, the P&G; Beauty Northwest Arkansas Championship, barely registered. Saturday’s rating was an 0.7 and Sunday’s was an 0.6.

Chatter

From Ian Woosnam after winning his second European Seniors Tour event, the Pestovo Russian Seniors Open, in a driving rainstorm: “I feel as if I’ve been drowned. . . . It’s great to get a win, but at the moment what I want most is to change into some dry clothes.”

From Rocco Mediate, on U.S. Ryder Cup prospects without Woods: “It’s not going to be the same without Tiger, and obviously no team is stronger without him. But, you know, it’s ‘just go do it.’ ”

Money news

IMG, which is run by Chief Executive Ted Forstmann and has such business clients as Woods, Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Sergio Garcia, Retief Goosen and Annika Sorenstam, may be in play. Dubai International Capital is working with former Yahoo chief executive Terry Semel on a bid for IMG, according to the Times of London.

The newspaper reported that a bid of $3 billion has been mentioned.

Dear John Deere

With most of the big names at the Scottish Open this week, including Mickelson, Ernie Els, Adam Scott and Angel Cabrera, it’s sort of a lean field at the PGA Tour’s John Deere Classic.

Kenny Perry, who is not playing in the British Open even though he could, is the only top-20 player in the John Deere at the TPC Deere Run. The only others in the top 30 who are on hand are 22nd-ranked Aaron Baddeley and 29th-ranked Zach Johnson.

A nice rut

Se Ri Pak has a chance to make news this week at the LPGA’s Jamie Farr Owens Corning Classic. She has won it five times, and no LPGA player has ever won the same tournament six times.

Mickey Wright and Sorenstam (who won two tournaments five times) are the only others who have won an event five times.

Ryder Cuppers

Kim’s victory virtually assured him a spot on the Ryder Cup team, and the Woods-less squad is going to look a lot different than many could have predicted at the first of the year.

Perry, Boo Weekley and Woody Austin are likely to make it; Johnson, Bubba Watson and Chad Campbell probably won’t, unless they’re captain’s choices.

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thomas.bonk@latimes.com