Woods backs Kim to bounce back

Tiger Woods has backed Anthony Kim to turn his game around and return to winning ways after a year of frustrating injuries.

Ryder Cup winning team-mate Kim, who turned 24 last month, went some way to erasing the memories of a dismal season hampered by a variety of fitness and medical problems.

He shot a course record eight-under-par 62 to make a strong start to the defence of his AT&T National title at Congressional Country Club to take a two shot first round lead over Woods, DA Points and Bryce Molder.

One of the USA's Ryder Cup heroes last September at Valhalla, Kim's form that also earned him two PGA Tour victories in 2008 reached a low point in May when he missed the cut at The Players Championship.

Consecutive top-20 finishes at the US Open and the Travelers Championship have changed that and Kim continued the improvement at Congressional with a bogey-free 62.

"He's got so much talent, it's just a matter of time before he turns it around," Woods said.

"He came back to a site that he feels comfortable at, and he's played well here in the past. There's a lot to be said for that.

"It's just a matter of him working hard and getting the experience and getting up there in position a lot of times and beginning to understand how to do it.

"That just takes time. He's still very young. He still has obviously a lot of time before - I remember (Padraig) Harrington, how many times did he finish second before he started breaking through? Some guys, you just give them a little bit of time."

Whether that can come as soon as this weekend and develop into a head-to-head contest between the pair, though, Woods was no prepared to say.

"Well, hopefully we can both get into that situation," he said. "We have a long way to go before that happens.

"Today we both played well, but still, we have a long way to go before we can put ourselves in a position where if we do have a head-to-head battle, it is what it is."

As for his own impressive round of 64, Woods was pleased to have hit form with the putter he felt deserted him at Bethpage Black when his US Open title defence ended in a tie for sixth.

"I hit the ball well and made some nice putts, two bombs out there, and overall it was a pretty good day," he added.

"Sometimes you just have those weeks, and unfortunately I had a week at the wrong time. But it's golf. You have days, you have weeks, and you have stretches where you putt well and you putt poorly.

"But the whole idea is to make sure you have consistent speed. As long as your speed is good day in and day out, you can turn it around pretty quickly."