Stewart Cink shot a 6-under-par 66 and won the Ally Challenge on the PGA Tour Champions in Grand Blanc, Mich., on Sunday for his first victory.
Highlights of Cink’s bogey-free round included a long downhill birdie putt on No. 5 and three short birdie putts on the back nine (Nos. 11, 13 and 16) at Warwick Hills Golf & Country Club. Cink played the final 36 holes of the tournament without a bogey.
After starting the day with a three-shot lead, Cink finished the tournament at 17-under 199, four strokes ahead of South Korea’s KJ Choi (final-round 67).
Cink, 51, makes his PGA Tour Champions debut in May 2023 after turning 50. He won his first title in his 10th start at age 50 or older.
“It’s nice that I’m one of the younger players for a change and can use some power, and (I) can still hit shots pretty far, and the golf course was offering some roll,” Cink said on the Golf Channel broadcast.
In March, Cink held the lead after the first two rounds at the Cologuard Classic in Tucson, Arizona, but dropped to T7 after shooting 73 in the final round.
“I’m not going to lie: I definitely have fond memories from Tucson earlier this year. I think any guy would have fond memories,” Cink said. “But I was really proud of myself the way I stayed in the present. I stuck to my game plan. This course — it can be rough, but you need to stay in the game and that’s the key on this golf course and I did a really great job of that.”
Cink most recently won on the PGA Tour in April 2021, but said he would focus more on the Champions Tour moving forward.
“I love playing on the PGA Tour. It’s been a great career and I wouldn’t turn it all away, but I think I’d feel comfortable playing PGA Tour Champions golf in the future,” Cink said.
Mike Weir of Canada had the best performance of the day — 8-under-par 64, with an early eagle and six birdies — and moved into third place at 12 under.
“I made a good putt on 17 from 25 feet. Also, there were two 12-footers and a lot of tap-ins,” Weir said. “There were a lot of chances, a lot of opportunities. It’s fun to play a round like this. Opportunities like this don’t come around very often.”
Darren Clarke (67) of Northern Ireland finished fourth at 10 under. David Duval and Bernhard Langer of Germany fired rounds of 65 each to tie for fifth at 9 under with Bob Estes (70), David Branshaw (71) and Australian Steve Allen (71).
–Field Level Media
