AT&T: How Big is This Matchup? Bigger Than You Think

It's late Saturday night, fireworks can be heard booming in the distance and I'm as excited as I've been all year about Tour golf. Make no mistake, this final round pairing of Anthony Kim and Tiger Woods is a very big deal, and not just because CBS says so.

It is this simple: what transpires tomorrow in Woods v. Kim could have a very big impact on the trajectory of Tiger's next ten years on Tour. And here's why:

If AK can beat Tiger tomorrow, it won't just catapult Kim, it will give every other 20-something the evidence they've been waiting for to believe it can be done. Tiger is the greatest, but he doesn't blow fields away like he once did. Young players are getting better, stronger, longer. They are not scoffing at Tiger's book, they're memorizing it. And more and more Tiger is being helped by one very useful weapon -- the perception that he can not be beaten with a lead on Sunday.

And for good reason, of course. The last time he lost with a 54-hole lead was the 2004 Tour Championship, before many of those 20-somethings even had their Tour card.

Tiger may talk of how he can only control his own game, but as the son of a Green Beret, he is well aware of his biggest threats. And he has quite the history of eliminating them.

Early on, it was Ernie Els who seemed most poised to challenge him, but at the 1998 Johnnie Walker Classic, Tiger came from eight back on Sunday to beat him. The defeat stung. And so did all the defeats that followed, with Tiger was once heard saying that if he could just step on Els one more time, maybe he wouldn't get up. Ernie hasn't won a major in 1997.

At the 1999 PGA, it was a young, bouncy 19-year-old Spainard named Sergio Garcia who was not particularly seem scared of Tiger, laughing his way around Medinah while Tiger scowled. Tiger held him off too, then flat out destroyed him at the 2007 British Open. Now 29, Sergio is still majorless.

Kim has Sergio's old spirit, twice the bounce and none of the spite. And when AK says he's excited about playing with Tiger tomorrow, I actually believe it. The last thing Tiger wants is for a guy like this to have more confidence.

The question of course is Will He Do It? I expect Kim to be down a shot after the first few holes. But I'll put myself out there and say yes, tomorrow will be something special.

If I'm right, it might just be a bellwether moment for the game, with Tiger's march to 20 majors suddenly a lot tougher.

A little blood in the water can change things in a hurry.

Updated, Sunday 6:30PM: Alright, fine. I was wrong. Very wrong. I still say Kim's mentality is one that will spell some long term trouble for Tiger, but in playing the tactician, Woods showed a maturity that AK doesn't have. He beat him by 4, but it felt like 8. I guarantee there are a lot of younger players out there who are currently asking themselves: If Anthony Kim can't do it, how can I?

One thing I forgot to consider last night was the Federer Factor. Across the Atlantic, just before Tiger would tee off, his shaving buddy held off Andy Roddick to win his 15th Grand Slam title, and Tiger sent him a text from the range which said, "Great job. Now it's my turn."