On heels of Ryder Cup victory, Kim continues to impress at Tour Championship
ATLANTA -- Unlike the raucous reception he received just a few days earlier, this one was reserved, more reverential, sort of what you would expect at a regular golf tournament.
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WATCH VIDEO: First-round highlights of the the Tour Championship. 
• Watch: Mickelson on the tough conditions
• Watch: Kim on just having fun
Of course, there is nothing like the Ryder Cup, as Anthony Kim learned last week as a rookie for the victorious American team at Valhalla in Kentucky.
It was there where no palm went unslapped, and every opportunity was seized to exhort the pro-American crowd into a frenzy, especially during his Sunday singles thumping of Sergio Garcia.
"I just had the best week of golf in my entire life," Kim said. "The best experience of my life, something I'll never forget. It's something I'll cherish for a very long time."
Thursday, then, must have seemed like going back to school after a fun summer vacation. Kim, 23, was teeing off in his first Tour Championship, the final event in the FedEx Cup playoffs. There's a $7 million purse, bonus money at stake and a historic golf course with an elite field. And yet it all felt a little flat.
How could it not?
After all the flag-waving excitement of last weekend, Kim and nine of his U.S. Ryder Cup teammates (only Boo Weekley and J.B. Holmes are not here at East Lake Golf Club) made the trek from Louisville to Atlanta for the Tour Championship. A Sunday night celebration that lasted well into Monday undoubtedly took some of the starch out of these guys, and if there was to be a Ryder Cup hangover, well, could you blame them?
"I don't even know what month we're in," Kim said this week to laughter, then acknowledged that he better shake off the effects of his Ryder Cup high.
"I'm playing against 29 other players who deserve to be here, who played great golf for a number of tournaments to get here," Kim said. "It did take an emotional toll on me because our team did grind so hard. We put everything we had into it. But it's what we do for a living. You've got to get up, be ready to play, and go out there and try to make some birdies."
Easier said than done, although Kim quickly rebounded from a first-hole hook and subsequent bogey. He rode the momentum of the Ryder Cup to shoot a 6-under-par 64 in the first round to lead by four strokes over Phil Mickelson, Ernie Els and Trevor Immelman.
"It's a little bit more subdued than last week," said Mickelson, one of just five players under par. "It took a couple of days to get over the excitement of Sunday, the excitement of the team celebrating, but we're ready to play. This is the last tournament of the year for me, so I'm certainly up for it."
But not all of his Ryder Cup teammates were able to keep the good play going. After Mickelson's 68, the next best was a 71 by Ben Curtis. Chad Campbell had 72, as did Jim Furyk -- despite starting his round eagle-birdie. Justin Leonard had 73, Hunter Mahan and Steve Stricker each carded 74s and Stewart Cink finished with a 75.
Kenny Perry was near the bottom of the 30-man field with a 76, then learned afterward that he was chosen for the tour's random drug testing program -- despite having already been picked earlier this year. He wasn't too happy.
"It's different," said Mahan, a Ryder Cup rookie. "I mean, it's weird kind of going through that and then having to come to such a big event like this. I mean, it is what it is. We [had] a couple of days to kind of fall back down to earth and just get back to the grind a little bit, so it should be good.
"It's a great field, good golf course, great tournament we're playing for. It may take a round or two to actually get back into the flow of playing tournament golf again."
Tour Championship Leaderboard
1. Garcia (-8)
T-2. Kim (-5)
T-2. Mickelson (-5)
4. Villegas (-3)
T-5. Curtis (-2)
T-5. Allenby (-2)
• Complete scores
Of course, there is also a letdown due to the fact that the FedEx Cup was all but clinched three weeks ago in St. Louis at the BMW Championship. All Vijay Singh has to do this week is finish 72 holes (he shot 73 in the opening round) to collect the $10 million bonus.
That took much of the intrigue out of this event, although as PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem correctly pointed out, there is still plenty of money at stake. The FedEx Cup was never a winner-take-all proposition. Second place pays $3 million -- in addition to the prize money in the tournament -- and the payouts are hefty through the 10th position. (Everyone through 150th place in the FedEx Cup standings gets a piece of bonus money.)
And it didn't help that the Tour Championship was moved to the week after the Ryder Cup. Originally it had been planned for the week prior, but there was big concern about playing the four FedEx Cup events and then the Ryder Cup the following week.
"Trying to play five big events in a row would have been very taxing on players, and I appreciate the change," Furyk said. "Even though it's going to put a little bit of a question mark on this event. Because guys are going to come here and say they were tired and they were partying. But emotionally, we'll try to get going. You might as well come out here and play well if you're going to be here."
That attitude certainly worked for Kim.
"It took me a couple of days to get over that celebration, that party," Kim said. "Obviously, it's nice when you walk up to a green and you've got a people saying, 'Nice job at the Ryder Cup. Way to bring the Cup back home.' Little things like that. I feel like when I'm happy, having a good time, I'm going to make some birdies.
"So it was a good vibe out there, and [I'm] definitely looking forward to playing better at this tournament."
Bob Harig covers golf for ESPN.com. He can be reached at BobHarig@gmail.com.
