Golf Roundup | Kim takes Wachovia by 5 strokes

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Knee surgery prevented top-ranked Tiger Woods from attempting to defend his Wachovia Championship title. Anthony Kim didn't disappoint fans at Quail Hollow Country Club looking for Tiger-like brilliance Sunday.

Kim, 22, became the youngest winner on the PGA Tour in six years. Combining monster drives with accurate approach shots and steady putting, Kim shot a 3-under-par 69 to cruise to a five-shot victory over Ben Curtis.

Kim had a 16-under 272 total, three shots better than the previous tournament record held by Woods.

"I'm a little bit numb right now, but that walk up 18 was the best feeling of my entire life," Kim said. "I'll never forget that feeling. I had chills going up and down my spine. I want to re-create that as many times as possible now, so I'm really going to work hard."

Kim earned $1.152 million and became the youngest winner since Sergio Garcia, then 21, won his third PGA Tour title in the 2002 Mercedes Championships.

Fred Couples (72) of Seattle tied for eighth place and earned $179,200.

Kim strolled to the first tee Sunday with a four-stroke lead.

"I was actually pretty comfortable," he said. "I thought I'd have a couple more butterflies in my stomach at the first tee."

Kim had a bogey-bogey-par finish, pumping his fist as his last putt dropped, and dominated a field that had 18 of the top 25 players in the world.

"I knew my life was changing on the 18th green when I was lining that putt up," he said.

Creamer wins playoff

BROKEN ARROW, Okla. — Paula Creamer squandered another lead and fell into a playoff she didn't want. But the 21-year-old got a favorable result, beating Juli Inkster on the second extra hole in the SemGroup Championship.

One week after losing to Annika Sorenstam in a playoff, Creamer bogeyed the 18th hole at Cedar Ridge for the third day in a row and wound up in a playoff when the 47-year-old Inkster, trying to become the oldest LPGA Tour winner, made an 18-foot birdie putt.

Creamer twice gave herself birdie putts in the playoff, making an 8-footer on No. 10 for a victory worth $270,000.

"I'm mentally done right now," she said.

Lost in a terrific duel was the end of Lorena Ochoa's winning streak. Going for a record-tying fifth consecutive Tour victory, Ochoa closed with a 2-under 69 to tie for fifth place.

"Hopefully, I'll start a new streak next week," she said.

Creamer (72) and Hall of Famer Inkster (70) finished at 2-under 282 for 72 holes.

Jimin Kang (67), a graduate of King's High School in Shoreline, finished eighth at 288 and earned $45,103 despite shooting a first-round 82.

Other tournaments

• Denis Watson of Zimbabwe birdied the final hole to win the FedEx Kinko's Classic, an event on the 50-and-older Champions Tour in Lakeway, Texas.

Watson, 52, closed with a 3-under 69 to finish at 10 under and earn $240,000. Nick Price (75) tied for second with 2007 winner Scott Hoch (69) and Tim Simpson (70).

• Canada's Bryan DeCorso won the South Georgia Classic in Valdosta for his first Nationwide Tour title, closing with a 3-under 69 for a three-stroke victory over Greg Owen (72) and Bryce Molder (69).

DeCorso, 36, had a 14-under 274 total and earned $112,500.

• Peter Lawrie, 34, of Ireland posted his first European Tour victory in 175 attempts when he made a par on the second playoff hole to defeat Ignacio Garrido in the Spanish Open in Seville.