When Stewart Cink made the cut this year at the PGA鈥檚 Valspar Championship, it marked a career accomplishment he didn鈥檛 know about at the time.
The nine-time winner on the tour had made the cut for the 500th time, becoming only the eighth player to do so. Many legends of the game have not hit that mark.
But what did it mean as a piece of his nearly three decades on the tour?
鈥淚鈥檝e forgotten about 80% of those,鈥 he said Thursday at Norwood Hills Country Club. 鈥淚 didn鈥檛 know and when someone mentioned it I thought 鈥楾hat鈥檚 pretty significant.鈥 A lot of guys consider it a feather in their cap when they get to 500 starts. To make 500 cuts I guess is something I鈥檓 proud of. But I don鈥檛 really think of golf as a cumulative thing. It starts over every tournament.鈥
For Cink, 51, that will be Friday at the Ascension Charity Classic, which will be his 11th PGA Tour Champions event. A bigger highlight for him in 2024 was winning the Ally Challenge two weeks ago for his first on the tour.
People are also reading…
If nothing else, the 500 cuts accomplishment speaks to Cink鈥檚 longevity, durability and consistency. Now he鈥檚 trying to establish those same traits among the 50-plus set.
He no longer has to worry about making the cut 鈥 the PGA Tour Champions doesn鈥檛鈥 have them. He has finished third twice, in the top five four times and in the top 10 in eight of 10 events.
Now that Cink has a win, he hopes to add to that category.
鈥淭here鈥檚 definitely a bit more confidence and belief because you were recently given that confirmation that you must be doing something pretty decent,鈥 he said. 鈥淏ut at the same time, there鈥檚 also a natural urge to back yourself up. We鈥檙e going to take the last tournament and learn what we can. It didn鈥檛 go perfect. We鈥檒l keep building on that. The goal is to give no one a chance to win except yourself.鈥
Cink almost did just that two weeks ago, taking a comfortable lead into the final round and then tying the tournament record low score.
He has split time this year between the PGA Tour and PGA Tour Champions. His plate will remain full after this weekend with his role as an assistant captain for the Presidents Cup at the Royal Montreal Golf Club the last week of September.
The last time Cink played in St. 亚洲无码 was in the PGA Championship at Bellerive in 2018. He called it his 鈥渕ost intense fan experience鈥 outside of a Ryder Cup or Presidents Cup.
Cink has been reunited with many players he saw regularly over the years on the PGA Tour. There also have been frustrations. He was in position to win in Tucson, Ariz., but stumbled down the stretch with a triple bogey that proved painful.
鈥淭he most challenging thing has been dealing with the expectations as a rookie and the youngest guy,鈥 Cink said. 鈥淭here are high expectations. It鈥檚 just not easy. I had a couple chances to win. Tucson hurt and I鈥檝e been open about that and the displeasure going through it. It meant a lot to play well (last tournament) and not feel like I was cruising but have a fairly substantial win.鈥
This week鈥檚 field includes seven of the top 10 in the Schwab Cup standings and players who have won 220 PGA tournaments, including 19 senior major championship winners.
Ernie Els was the last player to win back-to-back tournaments earlier this year. Els leads the Schwab Cup standings but is not in this weekend鈥檚 field, having withdrawn.
Cink played Norwood Hills for the first time Thursday in a practice round ahead of the start of the 54-hole tournament.
鈥淚 think it鈥檚 fabulous,鈥 he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a good driving course. There鈥檚 some rough out there. There鈥檚 a lot of pitch on the greens. It鈥檚 not necessarily back to front but some right to left and some pitch away. It鈥檚 just a really good test. It鈥檚 an old-style course. I love the way the holes are on top of ridges or in valleys with a lot of ups and downs. It has a cool rhythmic feel to it.鈥