Stewart Cink at Torrey Pines. (Dirk/Flickr)
LAST YEAR’S RUNNER-UP to Tiger Woods at the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship, Stewart Cink opened play today with a win over South African Richard Sterne at Dove Mountain in Marana, Arizona. It wasn’t easy. The match went extra holes before “Stewie” knocked in a birdie with his long putter to win 1-up.
“Nice to make a bomb on the 19th hole of any match!” Stewart said on Twitter. “But it doesn’t get any easier from here on out.”
He’s right. The road back to the finals will be challenging to say the least. In the next match, Cink will face Lee Westwood in the loaded Ben Hogan bracket, which includes Vijay Singh (currently down in his match), Phil Mickelson, Ernie Els and Steve Stricker.
Cink will need accurate approaches with his irons, but ultimately the flatstick will dictate the way his week goes.
“Went out for a practice round at the new Ritz Carlton course for the Accenture Match Play,” Stewart said on Monday. “Pretty decent but the greens are outrageous.”
By “outrageous” Cink might have meant the undulations since he added, “Too many humps to be fast, so they are only rolling around 10 on the Stimpmeter.”
Stewart hopes to build on a solid year in 2008 in which he recorded seven top 10 finishes, including one win, two seconds and two thirds. He also played on the victorious U.S. Ryder Cup team.
His interests outside of golf include sushi, skiing, hiking and ice hockey.
Cink File
Turned pro: 1995
Birthplace: Huntsville, Alabama
College: Georgia Tech
World ranking: 23
PGA Tour wins: 5
Major wins: 0
Equipment: PING
−The Armchair Golfer
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I love match play, but I wish I had one of those TVs that can divide into four separate screens with a match on each one.
Love that Mr. Cink is Twittering his thoughts. Very cool find.