Anthony Kim played like a man not wanting to be caught.  Chased would be fine, but caught is something that wasn’t going to happen today at the Wachovia Championship.  A 6 under par 66 left Mr. Kim 4 shots in front of his nearest opponents, Jason Bohn and Heath Slocum.  Mr. Bohn, the second round leader, shot an even par 72 thanks to a chip in on the 18th hole.  “It was awesome to chip in on the last hole, but I didn’t play as well as I wanted to today,” Bohn said. “I played with somebody who played extraordinarily good, almost Tiger-esque. He hit a lot of great shots. So it was fun. I got to watch good golf anyhow.”

Mr. Slocum holed out for eagle on the 15th hole, the highlight of his 68 which placed him into the final pairing with Mr. Kim for Sunday’s final round.  “I thought it was going to be maybe three feet short and it really just kept rolling out and rolling out,” Slocum said of his eagle. “It was lined up and the crowd starting getting a little bit louder and a little bit louder and it disappeared.”

I’ve seen Mr Kim described as flamboyant, notice the belt buckle in the picture at the top of the article, and supremely confident.  At the age of 22, possessed of immense talent it’s easy to understand that description.  He has changed since coming out on tour, witness his decision to chip out to the fairway on the third hole today, rather than play a low percentage shot trying to reach the green. “Six months ago I would tried to go for it, and there was double or triple bogey written all over that,” Kim said. “I chipped out, saved par, and that kept my round going. Little things like that have added to some good play.”  Of course on the 18th hole he ripped a 324 yard drive, hit an approach to seven feet, and made the putt for his closing birdie.  Nothing to this game, eh. “I feel like I’m ready,” Kim said of trying to become the eighth golfer in his 20s to win this year, “but you never know.”

Among the chasers Sunday are some bold names,  Stewart Cink and Dudley Hart are at 8 under par,  Jim Furyk and Geoff Olgilvy are at 7 under,  Fred Couples and VJ Singh are another shot back, and Phil Mickelson is tied with Adam Scott at 5 under par.  A lot of big names with a lot of big game in pursuit of a kid looking for his win on the PGA Tour.  I don’t think he’ll fold tomorrow.