Stewart Cink cruises to victory at RBC Heritage

HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. – Stewart Cink has witnessed a whole lot, but at 47 he does not generally don’t forget it, some thing he easily jokes about on Twitter.

At the RBC Heritage at Harbour City, he shot the fur off the program (a favourite Cink-ism) with twin 63s and then hung on above the weekend. His ultimate-spherical 70, on a working day when no one particular got nearer than 3 strokes, got him to 19 below par and left him 4 crystal clear of runners-up Emiliano Grillo (68) and Harold Varner III (66).

What created this, his eighth win, stand out?

“The fact that it transpired at my age,” he reported.

But also, he additional, the good friends and loved ones who had been there to celebrate with him.

Cink, who is the 2nd two-time winner on TOUR this time immediately after Bryson DeChambeau and moves from 26th to third in the FedExCup standings, celebrated the gain with spouse Lisa and their sons, Connor and Reagan (also Cink’s caddie), as well as Connor’s fiancé and many pals.

“Everything in amongst the pictures,” Reagan mentioned, when requested what he will keep in mind about the win—his second with his dad this period. “Walking down the fairways, hanging out. We speak and we system the shots and we have acquired a excellent process, but it really is just like the time we get to devote joking all-around going for walks down the fairway, it truly is brilliant. It is really the ideal. It actually is.”

What is gotten into Stewart Cink? He talks about the value of his group, and attributes his comeback season partly to his new trainer Cornel Driessen. With Driessen’s assistance, the veteran professional — Cink received the 1997 Tourists Championship the yr Collin Morikawa was born — has essentially received length in spite of becoming on the doorstep of PGA TOUR Champions eligibility.

Cink was 144th in the FedExCup and 300th in the world following he skipped the minimize at the Wyndham Championship to conclude last season. He produced a couple products modifications, grew to become a lot more economical, and with Driessen acquired so much toughness and mobility he began to adopt a complete new style of engage in.

“I was capable to genuinely form of transform my match into a small little bit additional of a electricity recreation,” he claimed.

But nowhere was the adjust to Cink’s crew extra evident than with the person carrying his bag as he gained the time-opening Fortinet Open up in Napa very last drop — his initially acquire in above 11 several years.

“He and I have often just been on the same wavelength,” Cink said of his son. “We’re kind of from the exact same DNA, and I mean practically like we are the very same person. We think about matters – we consider about jokes, we recognize the exact funny stuff, we just decide on up on the similar form of little information about points in our quick environment.”

In spite of all that their arrangement was intended to be non permanent Reagan, 23, is a recently minted Ga Tech graduate (industrial engineering) who has been doing the job in the flight functions section for Delta Airlines. He’s a scratch handicap and has his own existence to direct. 

“The touring and dwelling in a circus out in this article like I have carried out for my entire adult daily life is manufactured tolerable by being a participant,” Cink claimed at the Sanderson Farms Championship previous fall, when he and Reagan agreed that it would consider a prime-five finish for them to hold likely (Cink completed T12). “If you happen to be playing, you happen to be sort of the leading level of the wedding day cake out listed here.” 

Cink went back again to his primary caddie, Kip Henley, and opened with scores of 67-63 at the Shriners Hospitals for Youngsters Open up in Las Vegas. “I was like, it doesn’t subject who caddies for me ideal now, I am just killing it!” Cink said Sunday with a laugh. Then he shot 70-81 on the weekend.

He reunited with Reagan at the Bermuda Championship, but not for obvious reasons. Cink mentioned Bermuda was likely to be tough to get to and gave Henley the 7 days off — and then concluded T4 with his son back on the bag. Stewart and Reagan now seemed like way too fantastic a group to crack up.

“Our flight out of Bermuda was on Monday afternoon at like 3 p.m. since there weren’t any flights at the time because of COVID, so we experienced a prolonged time to sit close to the hotel space,” explained Cink, the 2nd oldest Heritage winner (Hale Irwin, 48). “Lisa was there, Reagan was there, and that Monday in the morning when we had been waiting around for our flight, we experienced a big crew pow wow.”

Cink explained to Reagan he needed him on the bag at the Masters. Then he reconsidered.

“I stated, ‘You know what, arrive to believe of it, how would you just like to caddie for this period?’” Cink claimed. “He stated, ‘I’m so happy you questioned.’”

Reagan was meant to commence perform in two times but referred to as his crew. Stewart, although, went straight to the leading, placing a contact to Delta CEO Ed Bastian — a friend, as luck would have it.

“I didn’t question Ed to do nearly anything,” Cink stated. “I just claimed, ‘Ed, if you had been me, what do you imagine you would do?’ And he is obtained grown daughters and I’ve got sons, and he said, ‘Stewart, this is the opportunity of a life span.’ I do not assume Ed would brain me quoting him. He explained, ‘We really like Reagan. We assume Reagan is going to function at Delta for 40 many years.

“We really don’t consider waiting around one particular more year is likely to damage, so let him caddie.’”

Reagan, who is engaged to be married July 31st, will caddie for his father via the FedExCup Playoffs. “And then I will be back again on the caddie current market or perhaps retire,” Stewart mentioned with a chuckle.

Not that everyone would let him. The greatest comeback tale of this year just retains acquiring improved.