The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
Peaceful approach leads Cink to runner-up finish
CROMWELL — Stewart Cink felt the vibe before starting his final round at the Travelers Championship Sunday.
Peacefulness and serenity, without a smidge of pressure.
“The only thing I was thinking about today was I had a really good heart of gratitude today before the round,” said Cink, a twotime champion in Cromwell. “I just felt really calm about today.”
Sure enough, that inner tranquillity translated to an unexpected ascension on the leaderboard. Cink shot an 8-under par 62, finishing at 14-under 266 for the tournament. After starting the final round 10 shots behind leader Paul Casey, Cink played himself into contention with the best round of the day at TPC River Highlands.
It was a memorable day for the 45-year-old Cink, whose first tour victory came in Cromwell in 1997. He also won in 2008.
And after 16 years of playing in Connecticut, Cink appreciates the course and the tournament.
“I feel comfortable playing here because I like the way the holes are shaped off the tee,” Cink said. “The greens I feel like I can see the breaks. We use this little greens book to determine the slopes and give us clues, but I’m almost never different than the greens book says. I almost always have it nailed with my eyes and that’s not the case at every course.
“So here I feel really comfortable reading these greens, and the speed is something I’m comfortable and accustomed to, and comfortable with too. Over four days it just adds up to pretty efficient golf here a lot of the years. This week was a good example of that. I drove it well, I putted well for the most part, and today really everything kind of came together and it all clicked at once.”
Cink was 6-under on the front nine and 7-under through 10. But while he birdied 13, 15 and 18, Cink bogied 11 and 16.
The run in Cromwell was a continuation of Cink’s recent play. He tied for fourth in his previous start at the FedEx St. Jude Classic.
“I improved my putting a lot the last couple tournaments and I worked hard on that,”
Cink said. “I actually made some changes and I’ve seen some results quickly. Almost like, wow, quickly. So it’s been really nice to see that. This week was a good week driving the ball for me all week. I was really on with the driver. The course isn’t the longest, but if you can keep it in play, length does matter here. You can get yourself a lot of short shots to the green, and take advantage of the few par-5s that there are.”
Off the course, Cink found a sense of normalcy when he wife Lisa joined him for the weekend. She has been traveling with him frequently and her absence felt, well, weird.
“So when she came in and we got in the hang for this weekend, I just felt like I had a good vibe out there,” Cink said.
As he finished Sunday, Cink was just two shots behind the leader. Casey, of course, would stumble as Bubba Watson seized the victory.
Cink wound up tied for second with Beau Hossler and J.B. Holmes. He talked after his round of what the tournament means, what it would mean to win 21 years after staging his first PGA victory.
“It’s a different tournament than [it was] was in 1997,” Cink said. “The sponsor (Travelers0 has really come in here and really improved this tournament quite a bit. So I just think it’s a fantastic place to be.”