The next Tiger Woods? As flattering as it is to hear that kind of talk — and there has been plenty of it in recent weeks — Anthony Kim knows it's pie-in-the-sky.

A wiser, more mature Kim also knows that he is standing at the threshold of something special.

Kim is soaring. He started the year No. 63 in the Official World Golf Ranking. With two victories in 10 weeks, at the Wachovia Championship and the AT&T National, he has moved up to No. 14.

That's just the beginning of what he has accomplished. Kim will be on the United States Ryder Cup team in September at Valhalla Golf Club. And when he tees it up in the final two majors of 2008 — at next week's British Open and the PGA Championship in August — he will be one of the golfers whose chances for victory will be scrutinized. He won't be dismissed as a field filler.

Kim has come that far in a very short time since his arrival on the PGA Tour in 2007.

It was at the 2007 U.S. Open at Oakmont Country Club that I first approached Kim for an interview. Kim was playing well — he would tie for 20th at Oakmont — and I wanted to ask him a couple of questions. We talked briefly and what I remember is not what he said but the look in his eyes. Kim had a faraway look. He was speaking to me but he wasn't really there. In fact, he wasn't really anywhere in 2007, something he discussed earlier this week.

Today, that look has been replaced by renewed focus. Being compared to Tiger Woods will do that for a golfer.

"It is an honor whenever anybody puts you in the same breath as probably the best player to have ever played the game," Kim said.

"It's a tremendous honor to hear that, but I know I obviously need to still put in the work and I'm willing to do that. If I keep working hard, I don't see why anything can stop me and I'm going to do my best to get there."

This isn't about somebody coming along to push Woods to even greater heights. This is about Kim, a Los Angeles native and collegiate star at the University of Oklahoma, pushing himself to greater heights.

"(Woods) doesn't need anybody to push him," Kim said. "I think he puts as much pressure on himself as anybody can, and I think that's made him the player that he is, and I feel the same way about my golf game. I don't think there's a critic or somebody that can make me feel a certain way. I put as much pressure on myself as anybody else.

"For me, it's just to work as hard as I can and hopefully that will be good enough. If not, I will know I've really tried and given it my all."

Examine those words closely and you'll see the significance. Woods has never had to get the point where he knew working hard would take sacrifices. Woods always works hard. That's his nature. He is always focused. That's a given.

Kim is only now beginning to embrace the need for those elements. Better late than never.

When Kim won the AT&T National, the event that carries Woods' name, it made him one of only four multiple winners this year on the PGA Tour. The others are Woods (four wins), Phil Mickelson and Kenny Perry (two each).

There is an irony to the fact that Kim's first victory came at the Wachovia Championship.

Kim had a chance to win the Wachovia in 2007 but his lack of maturity and attention to detail cost him dearly. He knows that now and promises not to make those same mistakes again.

Let's put it this way: Now that Kim has tasted victory and is hearing all the accolades about being the next great player, he is at a crossroads.

He can revert to his old habits — a penchant for laziness and a lack of preparation — or he can put the bit in his mouth and soar.

Kim sounds like he's made that decision. And what he is contemplating is good not only for himself but for golf.

"The feeling of winning is actually better now than I thought it would be," Kim said earlier this week. "To have accomplished what I have and the fact that there are so many other people that can enjoy this win with me feels wonderful.

"I guess there's a lot more work that it goes into winning on the PGA Tour than I thought. I thought it was going to be easier and took it for granted last year, and obviously that didn't work out. And the way I'm moving about it right now is working. I'm just trying to put in the time, and obviously winning makes it all worth it."

That's a marked difference from how Kim went about his business last year at Wachovia.

"I really believe that my game last year reflected how I was living," Kim said. "There were lots of double-bogeys and triple-bogeys last year, and there were quite a few birdies, but at the same time, there was no point where I just made pars and birdies and just played solid golf.

"A perfect example is Wachovia last year."

At Quail Hollow, Kim played solidly if not spectacularly despite a distinct lack of focus.

"I got to the course, I want to say on Tuesday of the tournament, and played 18 holes, really didn't map the course out," he said. "And every day before the tournament rounds, I got there about 30 minutes before my tee time.

"This year, I was there an hour-and-a-half before my tee time, warmed up and got loose in the fitness trailer, hit some balls and hit 30, 45 minutes of putts before I went to play. And this year, what made a huge difference was the preparation for that event."