Stewart Cink

Stewart Cink
Cink at the 2017 Valero Texas Open
Personal information
Full nameStewart Ernest Cink
Born (1973-05-21) May 21, 1973 (age 51)
Huntsville, Alabama, U.S.
Height6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Weight205 lb (93 kg; 14.6 st)
Sporting nationality United States
ResidenceDuluth, Georgia, U.S.
SpouseLisa Cink
Children2
Career
CollegeGeorgia Tech
Turned professional1995
Current tour(s)PGA Tour
PGA Tour Champions
Former tour(s)European Tour
Nike Tour
Hooters Tour
Professional wins17
Highest ranking5 (July 6, 2008)[1]
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour8
European Tour2
Korn Ferry Tour3
PGA Tour Champions1
Other5
Best results in major championships
(wins: 1)
Masters TournamentT3: 2008
PGA ChampionshipT3: 1999
U.S. Open3rd: 2001
The Open ChampionshipWon: 2009
Achievements and awards
Haskins Award1995
Nike Tour
money list winner		1996
Nike Tour
Player of the Year		1996
PGA Tour
Rookie of the Year		1997
Payne Stewart Award2017

Stewart Ernest Cink (born May 21, 1973) is an American professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour. He won the 2009 Open Championship, defeating Tom Watson in a four-hole aggregate playoff. He spent over 40 weeks in the top 10 of the Official World Golf Ranking from 2004 to 2009, reaching a career best ranking of 5th in 2008.[2][3]

Early years and education

Cink was born in Huntsville, Alabama, and grew up in nearby Florence, where he attended Bradshaw High School. After completing high school in 1991, he graduated from Georgia Tech in Atlanta in 1995 with a degree in Management, where he played golf for the Yellow Jackets; he turned professional in 1995.

Professional career

After winning the Mexican Open and three events on the Nike Tour (now the Korn Ferry Tour) in 1996, Cink joined the PGA Tour in 1997 and won the Canon Greater Hartford Open in his rookie season. Cink performed consistently on the Tour over the next few years, picking up another win at the 2000 MCI Classic. Cink contended in the 2001 U.S. Open, missing the playoff by a single stroke after making a double-bogey on the 72nd hole. In 2004, Cink finished in fifth-place on the money list and had wins at the MCI Heritage and at the WGC-NEC Invitational, which is one of the World Golf Championships events.

On February 24, 2008, Cink was the runner-up in the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship played in Marana, Arizona, falling 8 & 7 in the 36-hole final to top-ranked Tiger Woods. In June 2008, he reached his highest ever ranking, sixth, in the Official World Golf Rankings with his victory at the Travelers Championship in suburban Hartford.[4]

On July 19, 2009, Cink won his first major title at the 138th Open Championship at Turnberry, Scotland, defeating 59-year-old, five-time champion Tom Watson by six strokes in a four-hole playoff. Cink had birdied the 72nd hole while Watson bogeyed, which forced the playoff.[5]

On September 13, 2020, Cink won the Safeway Open for his first win since the 2009 Open Championship.[6]

On April 18, 2021, Cink won the RBC Heritage for the third time. He became the fourth player to win twice in the same PGA Tour season after turning 47, the others being Sam Snead, Julius Boros and Kenny Perry (who did it two times). Cink broke the lowest 36-hole score and 54-hole score record for the tournament.[7]

Personal life

Cink and his wife, Lisa, have two sons, Connor and Reagan. Cink is a Christian.[8][9]

Professional wins (17)

PGA Tour wins (8)

Legend
Major championships (1)
World Golf Championships (1)
Other PGA Tour (6)
No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory		 Runner(s)-up
1 Jul 27, 1997 Canon Greater Hartford Open −13 (69-67-65-66=267) 1 stroke United States Tom Byrum, United States Brandel Chamblee,
United States Jeff Maggert
2 Apr 16, 2000 MCI Classic −14 (71-68-66-65=270) 2 strokes United States Tom Lehman
3 Apr 18, 2004 MCI Heritage (2) −10 (72-69-69-64=274) Playoff United States Ted Purdy
4 Aug 22, 2004 WGC-NEC Invitational −11 (63-68-68-70=269) 4 strokes South Africa Rory Sabbatini, United States Tiger Woods
5 Jun 22, 2008 Travelers Championship (2) −18 (66-64-65-67=262) 1 stroke United States Tommy Armour III, United States Hunter Mahan
6 Jul 19, 2009 The Open Championship −2 (66-72-71-69=278) Playoff United States Tom Watson
7 Sep 13, 2020 Safeway Open −21 (67-70-65-65=267) 2 strokes United States Harry Higgs
8 Apr 18, 2021 RBC Heritage (3) −19 (63-63-69-70=265) 4 strokes Argentina Emiliano Grillo, United States Harold Varner III

PGA Tour playoff record (2–2)

No. Year Tournament Opponent(s) Result
1 1998 Canon Greater Hartford Open United States Olin Browne, United States Larry Mize Browne won with birdie on first extra hole
2 2004 MCI Heritage United States Ted Purdy Won with birdie on fifth extra hole
3 2006 WGC-Bridgestone Invitational United States Tiger Woods Lost to birdie on fourth extra hole
4 2009 The Open Championship United States Tom Watson Won four-hole aggregate playoff;
Cink: −2 (4-3-4-3=14),
Watson: +4 (5-3-7-5=20)

European Tour wins (2)

Legend
Major championships (1)
World Golf Championships (1)
Other European Tour (0)
No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory		 Runner(s)-up
1 Aug 22, 2004 WGC-NEC Invitational −11 (63-68-68-70=269) 4 strokes South Africa Rory Sabbatini, United States Tiger Woods
2 Jul 19, 2009 The Open Championship −2 (66-72-71-69=278) Playoff United States Tom Watson

European Tour playoff record (1–1)

No. Year Tournament Opponent Result
1 2006 WGC-Bridgestone Invitational United States Tiger Woods Lost to birdie on fourth extra hole
2 2009 The Open Championship United States Tom Watson Won four-hole aggregate playoff;
Cink: −2 (4-3-4-3=14),
Watson: +4 (5-3-7-5=20)

Nike Tour wins (3)

Legend
Tour Championships (1)
Other Nike Tour (2)
No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory 		Runner(s)-up
1 Jun 23, 1996 Nike Ozarks Open −16 (68-67-69-68=272) Playoff United States R. W. Eaks
2 Sep 8, 1996 Nike Colorado Classic −16 (67-68-67-66=268) 1 stroke United States David Berganio Jr., United States Michael Christie
3 Oct 20, 1996 Nike Tour Championship −7 (66-71-71-73=281) 4 strokes United States David Berganio Jr.

Nike Tour playoff record (1–1)

No. Year Tournament Opponent(s) Result
1 1996 Nike San Jose Open United States Bobby Elliott, United States Larry Silveira Silveira won with birdie on first extra hole
2 1996 Nike Ozarks Open United States R. W. Eaks Won with birdie on third extra hole

Hooters Tour wins (1)

No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory 		Runners-up
1 Oct 29, 1995 Naturally Fresh Cup −13 (69-68-68-70=275) 6 strokes South Africa Deane Pappas, United States Mike Swartz

Latin American wins (2)

Other wins (2)

No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory 		Runners-up
1 Jun 19, 2007 CVS Caremark Charity Classic
(with United States J. J. Henry) 		−20 (60-62=122) 1 stroke United States Brad Faxon and United States Zach Johnson
2 Dec 15, 2013 PNC Father-Son Challenge
(with son Connor Cink) 		−22 (61-61=122) 3 strokes Australia Steve Elkington and son Sam Elkington,
Fiji Vijay Singh and son Qass Singh

Other playoff record (0–1)

No. Year Tournament Opponents Result
1 2002 CVS Charity Classic
(with United States David Toms) 		United States Chris DiMarco and United States Dudley Hart Lost to birdie on third extra hole

PGA Tour Champions wins (1)

No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory 		Runner-up
1 Aug 25, 2024 The Ally Challenge −17 (67-66-66=199) 4 strokes South Korea K. J. Choi

Major championships

Wins (1)

Year Championship 54 holes Winning score Margin Runner-up
2009 The Open Championship 3 shot deficit −2 (66-72-71-69=278) Playoff1 United States Tom Watson

1Defeated Watson in a four-hole aggregate playoff; Cink (4-3-4-3=14), Watson (5-3-7-5=20).

Results timeline

Results not in chronological order in 2020.

Tournament 1996 1997 1998 1999
Masters Tournament CUT T23 T27
U.S. Open T16 T13 T10 T32
The Open Championship T66 CUT
PGA Championship CUT CUT T3
Tournament 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
Masters Tournament T28 CUT T24 T17 T20 10 T17 T3 CUT
U.S. Open T8 3 CUT T28 CUT T15 T37 CUT T14 T27
The Open Championship T41 T30 T59 T34 T14 CUT CUT T6 CUT 1
PGA Championship T15 T59 T10 CUT T17 T28 T24 T32 CUT T67
Tournament 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
Masters Tournament CUT CUT T50 T25 T14
U.S. Open T40 CUT CUT CUT T54 T46
The Open Championship T48 T30 CUT T26 T47 T20 CUT T24
PGA Championship T18 CUT CUT CUT CUT T4
Tournament 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
Masters Tournament CUT T12 CUT
PGA Championship T30 T23
U.S. Open T57 CUT CUT
The Open Championship T20 NT CUT CUT T23 CUT
  Win
  Top 10
  Did not play

CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" = tied
NT = no tournament due to COVID-19 pandemic

Summary

Tournament Wins 2nd 3rd Top-5 Top-10 Top-25 Events Cuts made
Masters Tournament 0 0 1 1 2 10 20 13
PGA Championship 0 0 1 2 3 7 21 13
U.S. Open 0 0 1 1 3 7 23 15
The Open Championship 1 0 0 1 2 7 25 16
Totals 1 0 3 5 10 31 89 57
  • Most consecutive cuts made – 7 (1999 Masters – 2000 PGA)
  • Longest streak of top-10s – 1 (ten times)

Results in The Players Championship

Tournament 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
The Players Championship T42 CUT T33 CUT CUT T39 T22 T32 CUT T3 T21 T76
Tournament 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
The Players Championship CUT T19 T64 CUT T38 CUT CUT CUT
Tournament 2020 2021 2022 2023
The Players Championship C CUT CUT CUT
  Top 10
  Did not play

CUT = missed the halfway cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place
C = Canceled after the first round due to the COVID-19 pandemic

World Golf Championships

Wins (1)

Year Championship 54 holes Winning score Margin Runners-up
2004 WGC-NEC Invitational 5 shot lead −11 (63-68-68-70=269) 4 strokes South Africa Rory Sabbatini, United States Tiger Woods

Results timeline

Results not in chronological order before 2015.

Tournament 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
Championship T4 NT1 T23 T46 T13 T45 T20 T59 T37
Match Play R16 R64 R64 R64 R32 QF R64 R16 2 3 QF R32
Invitational 7 T13 T47 T61 1 T41 2 T56 T43 T6 T19 T45
Champions T51
Tournament 2020 2021
Championship
Match Play NT2
Invitational T43
Champions NT2 NT2

1Canceled due to 9/11
2Canceled due to COVID-19 pandemic

  Win
  Top 10
  Did not play

QF, R16, R32, R64 = Round in which player lost in match play
"T" = tied
NT = No Tournament
Note that the HSBC Champions did not become a WGC event until 2009.

U.S. national team appearances

Professional

See also

References

  1. ^ "Week 27 2008 Ending 6 Jul 2008" (pdf). OWGR. Retrieved December 20, 2018.
  2. ^ "69 Players Who Have Reached The Top-10 In World Ranking". Official World Golf Ranking. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 17, 2015. Retrieved October 29, 2013.
  3. ^ "Players who have reached the Top Ten in the Official World Golf Ranking since 1986". European Tour Official Guide 09 (38th ed.). PGA European Tour. 2009. p. 558.
  4. ^ "Week 25 – Stewart Cink Wins the Travelers Championship and Climbs to Career High World Number Six". Official World Golf Ranking. June 23, 2008. Archived from the original on May 1, 2009. Retrieved October 29, 2013.
  5. ^ Orlovac, Mark (July 19, 2009). "Cink dashes Watson's Open dreams". BBC Sport. Retrieved July 19, 2009.
  6. ^ Wagaman, Michael (September 13, 2020). "47-year-old Stewart Cink rallies to win Safeway Open". Associated Press News. Retrieved September 14, 2020.
  7. ^ Iacobelli, Pete (April 18, 2021). "Cink-cess! 47-year-old Cink wins 3rd RBC Heritage title". Associated Press News. Retrieved April 18, 2021.
  8. ^ "Putting First Things First".
  9. ^ "Golf helps men share faith".
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