# Stewart Cink

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.

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

## Personal life

Cink and his wife, Lisa, have two sons, Connor and Reagan. Cink is a Christian.

## 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 | Tom Byrum, Brandel Chamblee, Jeff Maggert |
| 2 | Apr 16, 2000 | MCI Classic | −14 (71-68-66-65=270) | 2 strokes | Tom Lehman |
| 3 | Apr 18, 2004 | MCI Heritage (2) | −10 (72-69-69-64=274) | Playoff | Ted Purdy |
| 4 | Aug 22, 2004 | WGC-NEC Invitational | −11 (63-68-68-70=269) | 4 strokes | Rory Sabbatini, Tiger Woods |
| 5 | Jun 22, 2008 | Travelers Championship (2) | −18 (66-64-65-67=262) | 1 stroke | Tommy Armour III, Hunter Mahan |
| 6 | Jul 19, 2009 | The Open Championship | −2 (66-72-71-69=278) | Playoff | Tom Watson |
| 7 | Sep 13, 2020 | Safeway Open | −21 (67-70-65-65=267) | 2 strokes | Harry Higgs |
| 8 | Apr 18, 2021 | RBC Heritage (3) | −19 (63-63-69-70=265) | 4 strokes | Emiliano Grillo, Harold Varner III |
PGA Tour playoff record (2–2)
| No. | Year | Tournament | Opponent(s) | Result |
| 1 | 1998 | Canon Greater Hartford Open | Olin Browne, Larry Mize | Browne won with birdie on first extra hole |
| 2 | 2004 | MCI Heritage | Ted Purdy | Won with birdie on fifth extra hole |
| 3 | 2006 | WGC-Bridgestone Invitational | Tiger Woods | Lost to birdie on fourth extra hole |
| 4 | 2009 | The Open Championship | 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 | Rory Sabbatini, Tiger Woods |
| 2 | Jul 19, 2009 | The Open Championship | −2 (66-72-71-69=278) | Playoff | Tom Watson |
European Tour playoff record (1–1)
| No. | Year | Tournament | Opponent | Result |
| 1 | 2006 | WGC-Bridgestone Invitational | Tiger Woods | Lost to birdie on fourth extra hole |
| 2 | 2009 | The Open Championship | 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 | R. W. Eaks |
| 2 | Sep 8, 1996 | Nike Colorado Classic | −16 (67-68-67-66=268) | 1 stroke | David Berganio Jr., Michael Christie |
| 3 | Oct 20, 1996 | Nike Tour Championship | −7 (66-71-71-73=281) | 4 strokes | David Berganio Jr. |
Nike Tour playoff record (1–1)
| No. | Year | Tournament | Opponent(s) | Result |
| 1 | 1996 | Nike San Jose Open | Bobby Elliott, Larry Silveira | Silveira won with birdie on first extra hole |
| 2 | 1996 | Nike Ozarks Open | 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 | Deane Pappas, Mike Swartz |

### Latin American wins (2)

* 1996 Mexican Open
* 1999 Mexican Open

### Other wins (2)

| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory | Runners-up |
| 1 | Jun 19, 2007 | CVS Caremark Charity Classic (with J. J. Henry) | −20 (60-62=122) | 1 stroke | Brad Faxon and Zach Johnson |
| 2 | Dec 15, 2013 | PNC Father-Son Challenge (with son Connor Cink) | −22 (61-61=122) | 3 strokes | Steve Elkington and son Sam Elkington, Vijay Singh and son Qass Singh |
Other playoff record (0–1)
| No. | Year | Tournament | Opponents | Result |
| 1 | 2002 | CVS Charity Classic (with David Toms) | Chris DiMarco and 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 | 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) | Playoff$^1$ | Tom Watson |
$^1$Defeated 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 | 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 |
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 |
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 | Rory Sabbatini, 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 |
| Championship | T4 | | NT$^1$ | | | 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 | NT$^2$ | |
| Invitational | | T43 |
| Champions | NT$^2$ | NT$^2$ |
$^1$Canceled due to 9/11 $^2$Canceled due to COVID-19 pandemic
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
* Presidents Cup: 2000 (winners), 2005 (winners), 2007 (winners), 2009 (winners)
* Ryder Cup: 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008 (winners), 2010
* WGC-World Cup: 2005, 2006
* Wendy's 3-Tour Challenge (representing PGA Tour): 2006 (winners), 2008, 2009