Stewart Cink dominated the opening round of the Charles Schwab Cup Championship, firing a red-hot 7-under 64 to grab a three-shot lead at Phoenix Country Club.
The 51-year-old’s stellar play included eight birdies and just one bogey. Not bad for someone who’s still pretty new to the senior circuit.
Name
Events
Top 10
Money
Stewart Cink
688
105
$43,800,650
“I just kept plugging,” Cink said with a smile. “My attitude was great, and I’ve been working really hard on not getting too wrapped up in how each round goes.”
It’s been quite a year for Cink, who picked up his first PGA Tour Champions win at the Ally Challenge in Michigan this August. He came into this week sitting at 12th in the season standings.
K.J. Choi sits alone in second after shooting a solid 67.
Three players – Jerry Kelly, Paul Broadhurst and Stephen Ames – are tied for third after posting 68s.
“You don’t want to shoot yourself in the leg in the first round,” said Ames, who’s having an amazing year with three wins already. He’s currently third in the season standings and knows what’s at stake this week.
The tournament’s biggest storyline might be the battle at the top of the season standings. Current leader Ernie Els opened with a 69, trying to hang onto his position and claim the massive $1 million bonus that comes with it.
Golf legend Bernhard Langer matched Els’s 69, joining Rod Pampling, Joe Durant and Alex Cejka at that number.
Last year’s champion Steven Alker, who’s breathing down Els’s neck at No. 2 in the standings, started with a 70.
The field includes all but one of the top 36 players who qualified. Steve Stricker, in a quirky stat, remains the only player who’s never teed it up in a PGA Tour Champions playoff event.
This final tournament of the season is shaping up to be a fascinating battle between Cink’s hot start and the season-long championship chase.
