AUGUSTA, Georgia (AFP) - Anthony Kim made Masters history on Friday with a record 11 birdies in his second round and said that reading about the death of baseball player Nick Adenhart had changed his mindset.
The Los Angeles Angels rookie pitcher was killed in a road accident in California on Thursday just hours after making his Major League Baseball season debut.
Kim, one year older at 23, said he had been upset after a disappointing opening 75 on Thursday but had put things into context after reading a newspaper report of Adenhart's death on Friday morning.
"The last line in the story was: 'You never know what can happen, even at 22. You have to live every moment of every day like it's your last.'
"I said to myself - Look, it's been a dream of mine to be at the Masters my whole life, and there's no reason to pout about a bogey or a 3-putt, but enjoy being out here and enjoy all of the hard work that was put into it by myself and my parents, and go out there and have some fun.
"I think that's what made the 11 birdies a lot easier."
Kim had six birdies on the front nine and five on the back, with the only blemishes on his round of 65 being bogeys at the fourth and ninth and a double bogey at the 10th.
The previous record for the number of birdies in a single round at the Masters belonged to Nick Price of Zimbabwe who had 10 en route to a course record 63 in the third round in 1986.
Kim exploded onto the professional scene by winning two tournaments last year and he then played a pivotal role in the US Ryder Cup win over Europe in Kentucky last September.
This year has been more of a struggle after a tie for second place in the season-opening Mercedes-Benz Championship in January.
He did spread his wings though playing well in Asia and was tied for fourth at the Dubai Desert Classic.
There had been signs, he said, that his game was coming together again.
Kim said he had never doubted his own abilities.
"I'm not too concerned about what everybody else is thinking. That has nothing to do with me," he said.
"Of course, I hear or I'll be reading the paper and say, whatever happened to him; I'm still here. I'm still making golf swings.
"I haven't played as much in the US but at the same time, I've been dealing with injuries and different circumstances that I've never had to deal with in my life. So I'm very positive about where my career is headed."
That mindset could get even more positive come Sunday if he can reproduce the kind of form the rewrote the history books on Friday.
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