Stewart Cink
Residence: Duluth, Georgia,
DOB: 21/05/1973
Currently sitting inside the top-10 of career prize money winners on the PGA tour with over $25million dollars, Stuart Cink is one of the most successful golfers in history without causing a major stir. One thing that he can attribute this success to is the staggering consistency that he possesses within his game. Having only won 5 titles on the PGA tour Stuart Cink has made his fortune by consistently finishing in the top-10 on the PGA Tour.
He took up the game when his parents, both single-digit handicappers, left him at driving range before he was old enough to play on the course. During his amateur career he attended Georgia Tech in Atlanta, where he played golf for the Yellow Jackets. He graduated in 1995 from the management course and immediately turned professional.
Cink won 3 times during his first season as a professional. Although not on the full PGA Tour, 3 wins in a season is still nothing to be sniffed at. These wins allowed earned him full playing right for the 1997 season on the PGA Tour. He has won a total of 5 times on the US PGA Tour with his first win coming in his rookie season at the Greater Hartford open in 1997.
2004 was his best year to date, with a fifth-place finish on the money list and wins at the MCI Heritage and at the WGC-NEC Invitational, which is one of the World Golf Championships events and was the most prestigious win of his career.
2008 has been a fantastic year for Cink. He finished runner-up in the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship played in Marana, Arizona, falling 8 & 7 in the 36-hole final to world #1 Tiger Woods. Stuart also securing top-10 finishes in the preceding and following week. In June 2008, he reached his highest ever ranking of 6th in the Official World Golf Rankings with his victory at the Travelers Championship. He is currently 9th on the PGA Tour money list having amassed almost $4million in prize money this season. Stuart Cink was also a member of the victorious US Ryder Cup side towards the end of the 2008 season. However he may have been disappointed with his personal performance, taking only 1 point from the entire event.
Stewart Cink Club History
Below is a selection of clubs used by Stewart Cink throughout his career
Stewart Cink Tournament History
2009 Arnold Palmer Invitational |
26-29 March 2009 - Bay Hill Country Club and Lodge - This week marked the return of the Tiger Woods we all know and love. After 9 months out of action after re-constructive knew surgery - a birdie putt at the 72nd hole saw Tiger win as Bay Hill for a sixth time. Those familiar back-nine heroics and a putt that everyone knew he was going to drain saw the world number 1 come from 5 strokes back on the final day - equalling his career best comeback. This remarkable comeback must have been great to watch apart from the eyes of Sean O’Hair who Woods beat into second place. |
In Stewart Cink's bag...If you don’t break par in a tournament then you can expect to finish in and amongst the contenders (well maybe in the US Open). And this is exactly what Stuart Cink did this week. Rounds of 70, 71 and a pair of 72’s (par was 70) saw him never really be in contention this week - finishing in a tie for 30th. Now this is more like it! The perfect shot for identifying what clubs the professionals are using. Here we can clearly see that Stuart has a complete family of the new Nike Dymo woods. His irons are the full cavity of the new Nike Victory red series. We can also see on the back of his longer irons a small strip of lead tape to add some weighting to the clubs - and even the “SC” stamped on the back for the personal touch. His wedges are also from the Nike Victory Red series.
(CLICK ON IMAGES TO SEE FULL SIZE VERSION). |
|
2008 Buick Invitational |
24-27 January - Buick Invitational - Torrey Pines. Tiger Woods joined elite company on the final day of the Buick Invitational, even though he might as well have been playing alone. He thrilled the 4-deep gallery with an improbable flop shot from the trampled grass behind the 9th green to save par. He sent Torrey Pines into delirium with a 60-foot birdie putt that started in one direction and slid into the cup from the other. He made 3 straight bogeys on the back 9, a rarity for him when he's in the lead. And none of it mattered. The outcome was never in doubt at the Buick Invitational, only the final score. A 10-foot birdie on the 18th gave Woods a 1-under 71 and an 8-shot victory, the ninth time in his career that he has won by at least that many. |
In Stewart Cink's bag...Starting the final round in second place (only 8 strokes behind leader Tiger Woods) Stuart would have looked to consolidate this position. However a final round 73 saw him slip into a tie for 3rd with South African Rory Sabbatini. In our photo we can obviously identify that Stuart is a member of the Nike stable. His driver this week was a Nike SQ Sumo Squared and complimented by their sister fairway woods. Stuart was carrying a combination of iron sets. He was carrying a mix of Nike’s CCi and Pro Combo irons. Unfortunately from the photo we cannot identify how his set was split.
(CLICK ON IMAGES TO SEE FULL SIZE VERSION). |
|
2007 The Players Championship |
10-13 May - The Players Championship - TPC at Sawgrass - Stadium Course. The Players Championship (TPC) has for a long time been considered golf’s ‘5th’ Major because of the traditionally very strong field – typically the top 50 players in the world congregate to battle it out for the huge prize money. The victor this time was Phil Mickelson who, helped by Tiger’s old coach, Butch Harmon, bagged the $1.62m first prize and the 31st PGA Tour victory of his career after finishing with a 3-under 69 and a two-stroke victory over Sergio Garcia. Stewart Cink and Jose Maria Olazabal a further stroke back tied 3rd. The Stadium course is famous for its tiny island green on the par 3 17th – which this time proved a watery grave for a record 94 golf balls (it’s not just us handicappers who end up in the drink). This was Mickelson’s first victory at the TPC after 14 attempts. |
In Stewart Cink's bag...Not our finest close-up, nevertheless, these are the clubs Cink used to come 3rd at the TPC and they include a Nike Sasquatch Tour 460 driver, Nike Cci Forged irons - and what looks like a Never Compromise belly putter.
(CLICK ON IMAGES TO SEE FULL SIZE VERSION). |
|