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Stewart Cink: Open Champion

He seemed to come out of no where, an afterthought tugging at the coattails of a parent involved in important adult conversation. With a 12 foot birdie putt on the 72nd hole of his tournament, Mr. Cink seemed to get afterthought attention. Oh look, Stewie is 2 under, lets go back to the real story of the battle between the Great White (English) Hope Lee Westwood and Old Man Who Walks on Water Tom Watson. I have to admit I never expected Mr. Cink to make that putt. Yes he’s been a Ryder Cup player and yes he’s made some clutch putts in that format, but in stroke play my recollections of Mr. Cink and the lead are more of the throat grabbing, what’s that terrible choking sound variety. No offense to Mr. Cink, I know he’s won six times, and made over $27 million during his career, but he never seemed like a clutch guy to me. Nice game, nice guy from all reports, attractive family, lots of bank, but clutch, no way, clutch guys win more than six times in fourteen years.

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16 years ago

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He seemed to come out of no where, an afterthought tugging at the coattails of a parent involved in important adult conversation.  With a 12 foot birdie putt on the 72nd hole of his tournament, Mr. Cink seemed to get afterthought attention.  Oh look, Stewie is 2 under, lets go back to the real story of the battle between the Great White (English) Hope Lee Westwood and Old Man Who Walks on Water Tom Watson.  I have to admit I never expected Mr. Cink to make that putt.  Yes he’s been a Ryder Cup player and yes he’s made some clutch putts in that format, but in stroke play my recollections of Mr. Cink and the lead are more of the throat grabbing, what’s that terrible choking sound variety.  No offense to Mr. Cink, I know he’s won six times, and made over $27 million during his career, but he never seemed like a clutch guy to me.  Nice game, nice guy from all reports, attractive family, lots of bank, but clutch, no way, clutch guys win more than six times in fourteen years.  Once again, I am wrong.  Not only was he clutch on that putt, but he played the four holes of the playoff in two under par, not too shabby for a guy no one thought of as a serious threat until about an hour earlier. 

The story of the tournament will be always and forever, 59 year Tom Watson leading the Open championship after 71 marvelous holes.  Needing a par on the 72nd hole to capture his 6th Claret Jug and make all kinds of history, most of which had been chronicled ad nauseum by the adoring broadcasters, Mr. Watson drilled a tee shot to the middle of the fairway.  Here’s were the fairy tale go horribly wrong.  His eight iron second shot, juiced with whatever reserves of adrenaline and Geritol flowed through his veins, went over the green (the post mortem eulogizers all agree he should have hit the nine).  His chip was overly agressive and went 8 feet by the hole.  And his putt to win the Open for a sixth time was a weak wimpy effort.  The only really wimpy effort of the day, and the kind that reminded everyone watching that hey, this guy is 25 years past his prime.  When that putt trailed off short and left all the magic that had propelled Mr. Watson for the week decided it was time to return to the haunts of Robert the Bruce’s ruined castle. If you didn’t know it was over, you certainly entertained the thought desperately attempting to stuff that sacreligiousness back whence it came.  Too late.  The end had arrived, the formality of a burial service left undone.  The four hole playoff was a lot like Requiem for a Dream, during which I couldn’t help but think that dreams are like rainbows, only idiots chase them (apologizes to the folks at Despair Inc). 

 

All the hoopla concerning Mr. Watson age seemed, ah, overdone, overcooked, maybe totally overboard.  Yes he is 59 going on 60 years old, but take a good hard look at the man.  Now go out to the nearest mall and look at all the men there who seem to be 59 almost 60 years old, heck look at most of the men in their mid-forties. Take a good look at the guys on the Champions Tour.  Do they bear any kind of resemblance to Mr. Watson?  Seriously now.  I don’t care how old he is, the man has taken care of himself and still looks like an athlete.  Mark Calcavecchia looks older than Mr. Watson, and he’s eleven years younger. There’s still the competitive fire in Mr. Watson that in most older players dissapates  after you’ve worked for your entire life to be the best.  Age is not what it used to be, don’t be surprised to see something like this again, maybe not soon, but it will happen.  What with all the advancements in diet, exercise, and medicine you’ll see more and more old farts being competitive, under the correct conditions, at this age. 

I feel for Mr. Watson, he was so close.  So very very close.  I salute Mr. Cink, he won himself a Major, something a lot of really good players have never done.  It was an Open to remember, and at the risk of hyperbole, it was one for the ages. 

 

photo courtesy getty images

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  2. Eagleye

    Jul 24, 2009 at 3:55 am

    It says a lot more about the Alisa Course, a resort course, than it does about Mr. Watson’s prowess, however distinctive it may have been over four days. Except for St. Andrews, the Brits are short of gutsy, unyielding championship courses and rely on the weather (they can’t be said to have a climate) to prop up the degree of challenge. Having said this, Mr. Watson would have made history, but
    what a competitive spirit in Stewart Cink, we did not know existed.

    I always found Nicklaus more accomplished than Watson, similarly
    Sandy Lyle a better golfer than Colin Montgomery, notwithstanding either’s accomplishments.

    Reply Report comment

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Tour Rundown: Bend, but don’t break

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3 weeks ago

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Aug 4, 2025

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I’m going to gush in this intro paragraph, to get the emo stuff done early. I’ve not pulled harder for a professional to win, than Cameron Young. I coach golf in New York state, and each spring, my best golfers head to a state championship in Poughkeepsie. I first saw Cameron there as a 9th grade student. I saw him three more times after that. I reconnecected with Coach Haas from Wake Forest, an old interview subject from my days on the Old Gold and Black, the Wake newspaper. He was there to watch Cameron. After four years at Wake Forest, Young won on the Korn Ferry Tour, made it to the big tour, almost won two majors, almost won five other events, and finally got the chalice about 25 minutes from the Wake campus. Congratulations, Cameron. You truly are a glass of the finest. #MotherSoDear

OK, let’s move on to the Tour Rundown. The major championship season closed this week in Wales, with the Women’s Open championship. The PGA Tour bounced through Greensboror, N.C., while the PGA Tour Americas hit TO (aka, Toronto) for a long-winded event. The Korn Ferry lads made a stop in Utah, one of just two events for that tour in August. The many-events, golf season is winding down, as we ease from summer toward fall in the northern hemisphere. Let’s bask in the glory of an August sunrise, and run down a quartet of events from the first weekend of the eighth month.

LET/LPGA @ Women’s Open: Miyu bends, but she doesn’t break

Royal Porthcawl was not a known commodity in the major tournament community. The Welsh links had served as host to men’s senior opens, men’s amateurs, and Curtis and Walker Cups in prior years, but never an Open championship for the women or the men. The last-kept secret in UK golf was revealed once again to the world this week, as the best female golfers took to the sandy stage.

Mao Saigo, Grace Kim, Maja Stark, and Minjee Lee hoped to add a second major title to previous wins this season, but only Lee was able to finish inside the top ten. The 2025 playing of the Women’s Open gave us a new-faces gallery from day one. The Kordas and Thitikulls were nowhere to be found, and it was the Mayashitas, Katsus, and Lim Kims that secured the Cymru spotlight. The first round lead was held at 67 by two golfers. One of them battled to the end, while the other posted 81 on day two, and missed the cut. Sitting one shot behind was Miyu Yamashita.

On day two, Yamashita posted the round of the tournament. Her 65 moved her to the front of the aisle, in just her fourth turn around a women’s Open championship. With the pre-event favorites drifting off pace, followers narrowed into two camps: those on the side of an underdog, and others hoping for a weekend charge from back in the pack. In the end, we had a bit of both.

On Saturday, Yamashita bent with 74 on Saturday, offering rays of hope to her pursuing pack. England’s Charley Hull made a run on Sunday closing within one shot before tailing off to a T2 finish with Minami Katsu. Katsu posted the other 65 of the week, on Saturday, but could not overtake her countrywoman, Yamashita. wunderkind Lottie Woad needed one round in the 60s to find her pace, but could only must close-to’s, ending on 284 and a tie with Minjee for eighth.

On Sunday, Yamashita put away the thoughts of Saturday’s struggles, with three-under 33 on the outward half. She closed in plus-one 37, but still won by two, for a first Major and LPGA title.

PGA Tour @ Wyndham: Young gathers first title near home

Cameron Young grew up along the Hudson river, above metro New York, but he also calls Winston-Salem home. He spent four years as a student and athlete at Wake Forest University, then embarked on tour. This week in Greensboro, after a bit of a break, Young opened with 63-62, and revved the engine of Is this the week once more. Runner-up finishes at the Open, the PGA, and a handful of PGA Tour events had followers wonder when the day would come.

On Saturday, Young continued his torrid pace with 65, giving him a five-shot advantage over his closest pursuer. Sunday saw the Scarborough native open with bogey, then reel off five consecutive birdies to remind folks that his time had, at last, arrived. Pars to the 16th, before two harmless bogeys coming home, made Young the 1000th winner of an official PGA Tour event (dating back to before there was a PGA Tour) throughout history. What’s next? I have a suspicion, but I’m not letting on. Mac Meissner closed with 66 to finish solo 2nd, while Mark Hubbard and Alex Noren tied for third.

Korn Ferry Tour @ Utah Championship: Are you Suri it’s Julian?

Who knows exactly when the flower will bloom? Julian Suri played a solid careet at Duke University, then paid his dues on the world’s minor tours for three years. He won twice on two tours in Europe, in 2017. Since then, the grind has continued for the journeyman from New York city. At age 34, Suri broke through in Beehive state, outlasting another grinder (Spencer Levin) and four others, by two shots.

Taylor Montgomery began the week with 62, then posted 64, then 68, and finally, 70. That final round was his undoing. He finished in that second-place tie, two back of the leader. Trace Crowe, Barend Botha, and Kensei Hirata made up the last of the almost quintet. As for Suri, his Sunday play was sublime. His nines were 32 and 31, with his only radar blip a bogey at ten. He closed in style with one final birdie, to double his winning margin. Hogan bloomed late…might Suri?

PGA Tour Americas @ Osprey Valley Open presented by Votorantim Cimentos – CBM Aggregates

Some tournament names run longer than others. This week in Toronto, at the Heathlands course at TPC Toronto, we might have seen the longest tournament title in recorded history. The OVOPBVCCBMA was a splendid affair. It saw three rounds of 62 on Thursday, but of those early risers, only Drew Goodman would stick around until the end. 64 was the low tally on day two, and two of those legionnaires managed to finish inside the top three at week’s end. Saturday brought a 63 from Patrick Newcomb, and he would follow with 64 on Sunday, to finish solo fourth.

Who, then, ended up winning the acronym of the year? It turns out that Carson Bacha had the right stuff in TeeOhhh. Bacha and Jay Card III posted 63 and 64, respectively, on day four, to tie for medalist honors at 23-under 261. Nathan Franks was one shot adrift, despite also closing with 63. If you didn’t go low on Sunday, it was about the check, not the championship.

Bacha and JC3 returned to the 18th hole twice in overtime. Card nearly chipped in from the thick stuff for birdie, while Bacha peeked and shoved a ten-feet attempt at the win. On the second go-round, Card was long with his approach, into the native grasses once more. He was unable to escape, and a routine par from the fairway was enough to earn the former Auburn golfers a first KFT title.

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Tour Photo Galleries

Photos from the 2025 Wyndham Championship

Published

4 weeks ago

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Jul 29, 2025

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GolfWRX is live this week from the final event of the PGA Tour’s regular season, the Wyndham Championship.

Photos are flowing into the forums from Sedgefield Country Club, where we already have a GolfWRX spirit animal Adam Schenk WITB and plenty of putters for your viewing pleasure.

Check out links to all our photos below, which we’ll continue to update as more arrive.

General Albums

WITB Albums

Pullout Albums

See what GolfWRXers are saying and join the discussion in the forums.

 

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BK’s Breakdowns: Kurt Kitayama’s Winning WITB, 3M Open

Published

4 weeks ago

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Jul 28, 2025

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Kurt Kitayama just won his 2nd PGA Tour event at the 3M Open. Kurt is a Bridgestone staffer but with just the ball and bag. Here are the rest of the clubs he used to secure a win at the 2025 3M Open.

Driver: Titleist GT3 (11 degrees, D1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Graphite Design Tour AD VF 7 TX

3-wood: Titleist GT1 3Tour (14.5 degrees, A3 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Graphite Design Tour AD DI 8 TX

7-wood: Titleist GT1 (21 degrees, A1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Graphite Design Tour AD DI 9 TX

Irons: TaylorMade P7CB (4), TaylorMade P7MB (5-PW)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100

Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (52-12F, 56-14F), Vokey Design WedgeWorks (60-K*)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400

Putter: Scotty Cameron Studio Style Newport 2 Tour Prototype
Grip: SuperStroke Zenergy 1.0PT

Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet

Ball: Bridgestone Tour B XS (with Mindset)

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