Kim shows grit

After a disappointing first two days at the Presidents Cup KT Kim was especially nervous when he found out he would be up against Tiger Woods in Saturday's four-ball at Royal Melbourne.

But the South Korean showed he's a fast learner in just his third competitive round at the famed sandbelt course in miserable conditions when he and compatriot YE Yang caused a huge upset in defeating the former world No.1 and Dustin Johnson 1-up.

On day one Kim and Yang were brushed aside 6 and 5 by Hunter Mahan and David Toms as the American team took a 4-2 lead and on Friday Kim combined with Queenslander Adam Scott in a 2 and 1 loss to veterans Phil Mickelson and Jim Furyk.

But after both he and Yang were left on the sidelines for Saturday morning's foursomes, which began with the visitors leading 7-5 and finished with them ahead 11-6, the last thing Kim was hoping to hear was that they would be taking on Woods.

So poor was his second day against Mickelson and Furyk that he hit just seven greens in regulation but Kim was a different player on Saturday afternoon as he hit 17 of the 18 greens in regulation and made several clutch putts to seal victory.

None was bigger than the birdie bomb at the 15th that gave the pair the lead and he showed nerves of steel to finish it off with a par putt at the last to seal the important point for his team.

Kim's performance was in stark contrast to his mood late on Saturday morning, although he said afterwards through an interpreter he believes having the morning off worked in his and Yang's favour.

"I think first of all, when I heard I was being paired up with Tiger, I was a bit nervous, especially because I haven't been playing well the last two days," Kim said after the match played in heavy rain and cold weather, a day after gusting northerlies pushed the temperature towards 35 degrees.

"I've felt a lot of pressure but because we had the morning off I think it helps conditioning-wise and I think I got used to the course."

"I also think that at the tail end, I think we trusted each other, that's probably the main reason we won."

This week has marked the second time Kim and Yang have played together in teams competition, having done likewise in an event pitting South Korea against Japan earlier this year and giving them what Yang described as 'good chemistry'.

And while Yang was obviously pleased to have beaten Woods after suffering a singles defeat to him in the Presidents Cup two years ago, before the competition began the 2009 US PGA Championship winner spoke of how good he believes Kim can be.

"Although he's still fairly young, he's been tearing up the amateur ranks for a long time before he turned pro and when he turned pro he started out great, won the first two tournaments that he played in Korea," Yang said on Wednesday.

"I just believe right now my belief is that he's the best Korean player in the field or in the world right now."

"I think he's the best up and coming (Korean) for sure (and) there could be an argument who's the best right now but I think that if he comes into the PGA (Tour) he will be the best."

"And for a non-US PGA Tour player he is undoubtedly the best player out there as a Korean."