Date: May 05, 2008
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Aussies storm into top 10

Three Australians have finished inside the top 10 but none at the head of the Wachovia Championship field as Anthony Kim streaked to victory. Kim, 22, became the youngest winner on the PGA Tour for more than six years when he clinched a commanding five-stroke victory in North Carolina. The American didn&apost give his rivals a sniff of a chance with an impressive final round in ideal conditions at Quail Hollow. He started the day with a four-shot cushion and never relinquished his lead, putting brilliantly to pick up four front-nine birdies on his way to a three-under-par 69. Kim finished with a 16-under total of 272, a tournament record low score. Not even a barnstorming final-round 65 from Ben Curtis, who ended outright second, could put pressure on the brash Kim. A third American filled the podium places with Jason Bohn (71) closing the tournament at 10-under-par, six shots adrift of Kim. Australian Robert Allenby drew the curtain on his up-and-down week with an impressive 66 to snatch outright fourth spot, a stroke back from Bohn. The Victorian&aposs bogey-free round included four birdies on the front nine coupled with a pair after the turn. Countrymen Rod Pampling (66) and Adam Scott (71) finished in a tie for eighth spot, 10 strokes off Kim&aposs white-hot pace. Matthew Goggin enjoyed a four-under-par final round for a 284 total, good enough to grab a place in the top 20. Geoff Ogilvy, who began day four tied for sixth, had a horror round of 76 to slide down to a share of 22nd. Five bogeys and a double-bogey on the 18th made a mess of his consistent tournament. But, with Tiger Woods absent due to knee surgery, the spotlight from the opening hole was on Kim and he thrived. Kim, born in California of Korean parents, was tagged a star when he tied for second on his first PGA Tour start in late 2006. He finished 60th on last year&aposs money list, and has played this year with a new-found maturity, starting to fulfil the potential that everyone who has followed his career knew he had. Fourth Round Scores from the Wachovia Championship -16: Anthony Kim 70, 67, 66, 69, -11: Ben Curtis 69, 71, 72, 65 -10: Jason Bohn 68, 67, 72, 71 -9: Robert Allenby (Australia) 70, 70, 73, 66 -8: Dudley Hart 71, 67, 70, 72, Heath Slocum 71, 68, 68, 73 -7: Jim Furyk 71, 67, 71, 72 -6: Rod Pampling (Australia) 71, 70, 75, 66, Adam Scott (Australia) 72, 73, 66, 71, Fred Couples 72, 69, 69, 72, Stewart Cink 73, 70, 65, 74 -5: Jasper Parnevik 71, 74, 71, 67, Dean Wilson 71, 69, 74, 69, Hunter Mahan 71, 70, 71, 71, Phil Mickelson 68, 74, 69, 72, Pat Perez 72, 73, 65, 73 -4: Matthew Goggin (Australia) 71, 72, 73, 68, David Toms 67, 75, 72, 70, Ryuji Imada 71, 73, 70, 70, J.B. Holmes 71, 72, 69, 72 Also: -3: Geoff Ogilivy (Australia) 70, 70, 69, 76 -2: John Senden (Australia) 72, 71, 71, 72 E: Aaron Baddeley (Australia) 73, 71, 74, 70, Nick O Hern (Australia) 71, 70, 71, 76 4: Nathan Green (Australia) 73, 72, 70, 77 8: Nick Flanagan (Australia) 69, 75, 74, 78