Weary Anthony Kim to give Dubai a miss

• Last Updated: November 04. 2009 11:27PM UAE / November 4. 2009 7:27PM GMT

Kim has qualified for the Race to Dubai on 39th place in the top 60 of the European Tour. Jorge Guerrero / AFP

SHANGHAI // Anthony Kim says he will not be going to the Dubai World Championship to compete for the US$7.5 million (Dh27.5m) bonus pool, even though the American has easily qualified.

Kim reached the final of the World Match Play Championship last week in Spain before losing to Ross Fisher, allowing him to move up to No 39 in the Race to Dubai standings on the European Tour.

He already has played 11 events to meet the minimum required, assuring him a spot in the 60-man field to end the European season in two weeks.

But he is opting to skip the pot of money that is still big despite a 25 per cent cut in the original amount that was warranted by the economic downturn.

“I’m not going,” Kim said this evening on the practice range at the HSBC Champions.

He was among the last to qualify for the Shanghai event and the last to arrive due to visa troubles that forced him to spend all of Tuesday in Hong Kong getting his papers in order. “I need the week off,” he said. “My parents want to see their boy.”

He has been all over the world this year – Malaysia and Australia in February before flying to Arizona for the World Golf Championship in Arizona; then Spain, China and New Zealand in consecutive weeks.

Kim looked weary as he hit balls with a headphone playing music attached to his left ear. He played in Las Vegas a week after the Presidents Cup, then flew to Spain for the World Match Play.

Next week is the two-day Kiwi Challenge exhibition in New Zealand, followed by a few days of sightseeing before heading back to America.

His last event of the year would be the Chevron World Challenge from December 3 to 6 in California, which Tiger Woods hosts.

“Next year, I just want to be prepared for our season,” he said of the PGA Tour, where he failed to win this year.

“The PGA Tour is my home tour, and it’s where I need to play well. I’ve made it my priority to play well in the States. I was all over the place this year. I didn’t do a good job of scheduling.

“Scheduling is half your job as a pro. I learned a lot this year.”

Even so, Kim said he would not stop travelling. He was among half a dozen US-based players who joined the European Tour to take part in the Race to Dubai, which ends with the $7.5 million tournament and the bonus pool at the Dubai World Championship.

Kim, Geoff Ogilvy and Camilo Villegas were the only American-based players who signed up for the Race to Dubai and will make the final 60.

“Even if they don’t have a Race to Dubai next year, I’m still going to sign up for European Tour membership,” Kim said.

“There’s a different vibe out here, and it’s good to experience it. I just need to do a better job with my schedule.” Kim would not be replaced in the Dubai World Championship.

* AP