Cink ends 4,074-day drought, wins with son on bag
NAPA, Calif. – When Stewart Cink headed to the golf course for the final round of the Safeway Open with a legitimate chance to earn his first victory since 2009, he told his wife, Lisa, that he was excited and scared.
“I think it’s way better to admit that kind of thing than it is to come here with it all bottled up and then as soon as you miss a putt or get a bad kick, you’re like freaking out,” Cink said. “She had some great words. She said, ‘You know what? You’re loved no matter what you do. No one expects anything out of you. I know you can do it and you know you can do it, but the world doesn’t expect anything out of you today, so just go out there and have a great time.’ ”
Cink, 47, did just that, shooting 7-under-par 65 on Silverado Resort’s North Course to win the the PGA Tour tournament by two strokes, and he did it with his 23-yearold son, Reagan, walking stride for stride with him as his fill-in caddie. For good measure, it just so happened to be the 27th birthday of the Cinks’ older son, Connor, too. Cink sensed something special was afoot and while still in the heat of battle he tried to get Lisa’s attention on the 14th hole, but she didn’t notice. Finally, he sidled over to her along the rope line and leaned in and grabbed her by the arm.
“I told her we’ve got a lot to be thankful for,” he said. “I just was feeling this great sense of gratitude. It all just kind of poured together into feeling like, wow, this is really special.”
Special, indeed. It had been 4,074 days, or 11 years, 1 month and 25 days since his last victory, when he broke so many hearts by denying Tom Watson of winning the British Open at Turnberry at age 59. Harry Higgs grew up in Kansas City, Missouri, where the professional sports teams are the NFL’s Chiefs, MLB’s Royals and the Tour’s Tom Watson. Higgs remembers being moved to tears watching Watson lose a four-hole aggregate playoff.
“Stewart Cink is enemy No. 1 for Kansas City golf, and all throughout today chasing him, I was like, I cannot let Stewart Cink beat another Kansas City golfer,” said Higgs, who gave a valiant effort, shooting 68 to finish second.
Cink’s journey to capturing his seventh Tour title endured several bumps in the road. He took a leave of absence in May 2016 when Lisa battled breast cancer – she’s been in full remission for nearly five years, he said – and Cink had his own bout with skin cancer on his nose in 2018. With PGA Tour Champions eligibility looming, did he think he’d ever get to hoist a trophy again?
“I think I came to terms with the possibility that it might not happen, I did, but it’s not something I was settled or content with,” he said.
This time, Reagan did the heavy lifting inside the ropes. “He told me at the beginning of the week, Reagan did, he goes, ‘I can help him, I know I can, I can really make a difference,’ and I love that attitude,” Lisa said.
About three weeks ago Reagan, a recent graduate from Georgia Tech who moved back home after getting engaged to save money, told his dad he’d like to caddie for him sometime. “I said, ‘How about Safeway?’ ” Stewart recalled.
How about hitting a tee shot on the 72nd hole with a 5-yard fade that bled into the middle of the fairway, setting up a 7-wood from 254 yards that sailed over the front bunker at the par-5 and set up a two-putt birdie from 49 feet.
Both then walked off arm-in-arm after a win the family will never forget.