Stewart

Cink

Cink won twice last season at age 47, his seventh and eighth PGA TOUR wins, respectively, and has celebrated two birthdays since his most recent at the RBC Heritage last April as the 36- and 54-hole leader. This is his second Rocket after a 70th (of 71) at the inaugural in 2019 (65-73-72-74), and arrived off a couple of T24’s in his last three starts, but wasn’t in contention in either. This week, the Georgia Tech alum has opened 68-66, outflanked one 3-putt bogey (from 42'3") at hole six today with seven birdies at 17, 18, 3, 4, 7, 8 (hole-out from 67'0") and 9, and currently ranks 13th SG: Tee-to-Green (4.861), including 4.408 TTG in R2, and 18th SG: Putting (2.904).

The 49-year-old, who celebrated his birthday today (May 21st), arrived off a back-door T9 at wicked-hard TPC Potomac two weeks ago at the Wells Fargo, closing with a day-low 65, and has brought that momentum with him. On 13 (of 14) fairways and 11 greens in regulation, he lost strokes on approach (-0.040) and around-the-green (-1.235), but gained 1.914 off-the-tee and 0.880 on-the-green. Afterward (link below), regarding Phil Mickelson’s win at last year’s PGA at age 50, where Cink played a practice round with Phil: “It blows the ceiling off what we thought was impossible before, really. Phil is his own guy for sure and he’s one of the best the game has ever seen but the fact that at his age he could not only just compete but finish it off and win, coupled with the fact I know I’ve got recent wins on the PGA TOUR, it really gives me a load of belief...surely I was inspired by what Phil did and that he hung in there and that he was himself and just made it happen.” The Georgia Tech alum, who’s posted laps of 69-68-71, ranks 3rd SG: OTT (4.489) and 25th SG: Putting (2.987), and this is his highest position on the leaderboard thru 54 holes since last season’s RBC Heritage, where he was the 54-hole leader by five and shot 1-under 70 to win by four for his eighth TOUR victory.

The 48-year-old, who celebrates his birthday this month (May 21st), arrived off a disappointing 68th-place finish at the RBC Heritage three weeks ago as defending champ, but rebounds with his second top 10 of the season in 14 events, joining a T7 three starts ago at the Valspar. This was his 15th WFC and fourth top 10, first since T9 in 2011 at Quail Hollow, and got there after handing in rounds of 66-73-74-65, today’s 65 gaining 6.211 SG: Total. For the festivities, the Georgia Tech alum totaled 22 birdies, currently No. 1 in that stat, versus 18 bogeys and one double, and ranked 22nd SG: Tee-to-Green (5.423), lowlighted by a -2.154 SG: Around but highlighted by a 5.552 SG: Approach, and 13th in SG: Putting (3.614), including a stellar 3.844 SGP on Sunday. The Alabama native is not in the published field at this coming week’s AT&T Byron Nelson.

The 47-year-old Cink hit an 8-iron from 170 yards at the par-3 16th during the second round, marking the 24th ace at the hole in tournament competition. The eight-time Tour winner said his performance at Augusta was a glimpse into what’s been a lackluster season to date: “It’s kind of a year that’s gotten away from me so far,” he told media Tuesday. “I’ve (been) really close to playing very well, but I just have been trying to kind of grasp at something that hasn’t quite connected just yet. …I’m looking to come to a place like Harbour Town and maybe get some confidence, memories to turn things around.” Last year in Hilton Head, Cink cruised to a four-shot victory for his second win in 2020-21 and his third win at Harbour Town (2000, 2004). His four-stroke margin of victory marked the largest margin for a winner at the RBC Heritage in a decade. Cink opened with back-to-back rounds of 63 and closed with a 1-under 70 on Sunday to hold off Harold Varner III, who fired a 5-under 66. Varner finished T-2 with Emiliano Grillo, Maverick McNealy and Matt Fitzpatrick. He looks to become the first player to win back-to-back in Hilton Head since Boo Weekley in 2007-08.

The 48-year-old was not the elder statesman in the field, that would be 57-year-old Davis Love III, but he was the oldest to make the weekend, which he played in 69-68 after opening with 67-68. This was his 17th Valspar and third top 10, first since a T2 in 2008, and bags his first top 10 of the season in 11 events. Overall, it’s the Georgia Tech alum’s 103rd career top 10 in 632 events, first since his second of two wins last season at the RBC Heritage 22 starts ago. For the festivities, he totaled one eagle and 14 birdies against two bogeys and a double, and ranked 7th in SG: Approach (5.108), 10th in SG: Putting (4.977), including a 1.900 SGP on Sunday, and T1 in Greens in Regulation at 75.00 percent (54/72), despite his week-worst of 11 in R4.

11-for-11 making the weekend at the Champion Course at PGA National, one of which was a MDF in 2019, Cink has shown a liking to the Tom Fazio design. Despite this string of consistency in the Honda Classic, the two-time winner last season has yet to collect a truly memorable result. With only one top-20 finish to his name (last year), he has also captured two top-30s and two top-40s. Leaving plenty to be desired, Cink arrives this season relying primarily on his putter in 2022. Gaining strokes on the greens in each start this year, the 2009 Champion Golfer of the Year has yet to post positive SG: Off-the-Tee and SG: Approach numbers. Struggling from tee-to-green, this could spell trouble for Cink as PGA National is certainly a venue players cannot fake it around.

With laps of 68-63 and 13 birdies against four bogeys, the 48-year-old improves to 13-for-18 at the Sony and has now made his last eight cuts in a row in the event. He has a particular affinity of late to R2, where his last three scores at Waialae CC are today’s 63, 63 in 2020 (finished T19), and a career-tying-low 62 in 2019 (finished T20). The Georgia Tech alum’s best finishes in the event are a couple of top 10s way back in 2005 (T5) and 2006 (T10), and while he can go low here, hasn’t been able to connect them together in the same week. He checked in off a T21 at last week’s Sentry TOC, where he was T10 after 54 holes (69-67-67-71).

The 48-year-old Cink was last in action in November at the RSM Classic, where he missed his second straight cut after also missing out on weekend action the week prior at the Houston Open. More recently however, he teamed with son and now full-time caddie for 2022, Reagan Cink, to finish T-3 in the unofficial PNC Championship last month. The eight-time tour winner, who enjoyed a resurgence last season with wins at the Safeway Open and RBC Heritage, has three top-10 results in the winners-only event including a T-6 in 1998 (at La Costa), T-5 in 2005 and ninth in 2010. Cink, who played the TOC last year for the first time in 11 years, and Phil Mickelson are the only two players in the field at Kapalua who also played the event when it was held at La Costa. Last season, Cink was T-26 on the FedExCup standings and reached the Tour Championship for the first time since 2009. He made 19 cuts in 26 starts with three top 10s, including his two wins.

Stewart, 48, and son Reagan, 24, led by one after an opening 59, the only sub-60 lap on Day 1, but came up three swings short of playing competitors and eventual winners Team Daly on Sunday, who painted a day- and week-tying-low 57 to claim the title. The Cink’s, making their third appearance as a tandem, first since T6 in 2017 (62-62), went out in 30 (six birdies), now T2 and one back of the Daly’s. They birdied their first four holes on the inward half, as did the Daly’s, but played their final five holes in just 1-under, lowlighted by pars at both of the remaining par-5 holes. For the festivities, they signed for laps of 59-61, and tallied 22 birdies and an eagle versus zero dropped shots.

Stewart, 48, and Reagan, 24, are making their third appearance, first since finishing T6 in 2017 (62-62). They got off to a slow start today and at the Ritz-Carlton in Orlando with three straight pars in the scramble format but settled in to card 11 birdies and an eagle at the par-5 fifth. Stewart won here on debut in 2013 teamed with his eldest son Conner, posting a winning score of 22-under (61-61) after being the 18-hole leaders by one. Reagan, who’s going to continue on as full-time caddie for dad on the PGA TOUR in calendar-year 2022, had this to say post-round: “I really want to win this tournament. He (Connor) holds it over me. I beat him every time we play golf together, and he has won this tournament and I have not.”