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Cink is happy to play at Innisbrook but ...

The golfer had his sights set on finishing in the top 50 and playing in a more lucrative event, but he's glad to be back in familiar territory.

By BOB HARIG, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times
published September 17, 2002

PALM HARBOR -- For Stewart Cink, his status in this week's Tampa Bay Classic is not unlike the best college basketball team in the NIT, or the winner of the Independence Bowl.

It's nice but not exactly what he had in mind.

Cink, who will play for the United States in next week's Ryder Cup, was the highest-ranked player in the World Ranking (at the close of entries) among the 156 competitors who will tee off Thursday in the Tampa Bay Classic at the Westin Innisbrook Resort.

To be considered the 55th-best player in golf is no shame. But a year ago, Cink was among the top 25. And by falling out of the top 50, he cost himself a spot in the more lucrative American Express Championship, a World Golf Championship event in Kilkenny, Ireland, that begins Thursday.

"I can't lie to you and say I wasn't trying to make it into the Ireland field," Cink said. "On the other hand, ever since I've been about 15 years old I've played at Innisbrook. I started playing as a kid in the AJGA (American Junior Golf Association) tournament. I have fond memories. And I played in the mixed team (JCPenney Classic). I enjoy the course."

Cink, 29, is a two-time PGA Tour winner who earned his way onto the 2001 U.S. Ryder Cup team by claiming the 10th and final qualifying spot. At the time, he was ranked 24th in the world.

But he was experiencing a slip in his game by this time a year ago, and he traces it to the 2001 U.S. Open at Southern Hills.

The 72nd hole of that U.S. Open turned into a disappointment for Cink. Playing with eventual champion Retief Goosen, Cink missed an 18-inch putt for bogey on the final green that cost him a spot in the 18-hole playoff the next day with Goosen and Mark Brooks. Cink finished third.

At the time of the miss, Cink figured the putt was meaningless. He had a 15-footer for par that he thought he needed to drop in order to make the playoff. When it slid by, Cink did what any player would do -- try to get out of the way. Goosen figured to win the tournament with two putts from 12 feet. But Goosen shockingly three-putted.

After a few moments, Cink realized the opportunity he had blown.

"I had to get out of Retief's way," he said. "At the time, I had lost the U.S. Open. One hundred percent of the players would have done the same thing I did. It was kind of tough for me to go ahead and clean it up (the short putt). The motivation for trying to make those shots was the trophy waiting for me on the 18th green. It was tough to gather myself. Retief Goosen put me in a terrible position by doing what he did."

Cink has been a good sport about the entire episode. Earlier this year, for a U.S. Open preview story, Cink allowed Golf World magazine to photograph him with his trousers pulled down to his ankles and the headline: Caught With His Pants Down.

Eventually, the reality of what occurred set in, and Cink said it affected his game for months. He tied for third the next week at the Buick Classic, then didn't post another top-10 finish for some 11 months, a span of 25 tournaments.

"I didn't feel like the player who had potential stardom," Cink said. "I felt like the player who should have won the U.S. Open, or had a chance and didn't. That weighs on your mind. In golf, any little thing that gets into your head is tough to erase. It stayed with me a long time.

"Now I feel like I can look back and draw more from it as an experience than as something that was an embarrassment. In the long term, I think it will be better. Now I think it will help me."

Cink said he chose to play this week because he wants to be sharp for next week's Ryder Cup, despite some logistical problems he could face. He has a 9:45 p.m. flight out of Atlanta on Sunday to Paris, where he will connect to Birmingham, England, on Monday morning in order to meet the rest of the U.S. team at the Belfry. If necessary, Cink will charter a plane to make it to Atlanta on time.

"It's something I was willing to endure to play," he said. "Not only do I enjoy the area and Innisbrook, but I also feel like it's important to play the week before a big tournament. For me, it's very similar to a major, and I always want to play the week before a big tournament."

NOTES: John Daly's surprise presence in Monday's pro-am was topped by his hole-in-one on the Copperhead's 15th hole. He aced the 215-yard hole with a 6-iron. The team of Kermit Knight, Joe Fitzgerald and Bob Moses won the scramble with 14-under-par 57. They played with pros Michael Long and Brian Bateman for nine holes each. ... Tampa's Doug LaCrosse, who is attempting to play the Senior PGA Tour, was given a sponsor's exemption. LaCrosse, 50, qualified for last year's Tampa Bay Classic, his first competition as a professional, but the tournament was canceled the week of Sept. 11. ... Former U.S. Amateur champion Chris Patton was among four players who qualified Monday at Fox Hollow Golf Club. Ken Duke led the way with 65, followed by Patton, Jacob Ferenz and Ken Duke. They shot 66.

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