Kim over thumb injury and ready to defend AT&T title

By Steve Ginsburg

BETHESDA, Maryland (Reuters) - Anthony Kim said he had recovered from a nagging thumb injury and was ready to defend his title at the AT&T National this week.

American Kim blistered the Congressional Country Club Course last year in a wire-to-wire victory that many believed would be the dawn of his jump into golf''s upper echelon.

"I''m definitely feeling pretty healthy coming in, as healthy as I''ve felt all year," the 24-year-old Kim told a news conference on Tuesday.

"It''s been progressively getting better from the U.S. Open on, and last week had a pretty solid week, even though I didn''t finish the way I wanted to.

"Showed a lot of promise, and looking forward to having a chance to defend this week and have some fun."

Kim''s dominating victory at the 2008 AT&T National was achieved without the event''s host, world number one Tiger Woods, who was at home recovering from knee surgery.

Woods, however, will participate in this year''s tournament, a $6 million, 120-player affair that begins Thursday in suburban Washington.

Kim said he was delighted the world''s best player was back on the tour but was equally concerned about the rest of the field.

"Whenever you have a chance to play against the best, it''s a tremendous feeling you get on that first tee, but at the same time, I''m not playing against Tiger," the native Californian said.

"I''m playing against everybody in the field, and I know a lot of people say that, but I believe it.

"So it''s about me playing the best I can. And if things keep improving like they have the last couple weeks, I should be in good shape."

Kim, whose results this year have been patchy due largely to a bothersome thumb injury, has two career victories. He finished tied for 16th at the U.S. Open two weeks ago at soggy Bethpage.

"Everyone misses putts at the U.S. Open," he said. "Everyone hits it in the hay, and I was seven shots off of having a chance to be in the playoff of the U.S. Open, and that''s the way I''m going to look at it.

"I was a shot off tenth, a couple shots off third, and you know, seven shots off of first, and if I go back and think about what I could have done to minimize some of the big mistakes I made and play a little bit smarter, I would have had a chance to win that golf tournament.

"So I have nothing but positive feelings from the last two weeks and hopefully it''ll come through this week."

(Editing by Justin Palmer)