Cink Plans For Hair-Raising Finish

Illustration: Lou Beach

By Tim Rosaforte

Illustration By Lou Beach

October 2008

Some athletes grow beards and avoid the barber come playoff time. Stewart Cink did the reverse, entering the FedEx Cup playoffs styling the Mr. Clean look. And Cink knows close shaves. He nearly won the Accenture Match Play Championship in February before getting cut up (8 and 7) by Tiger Woods in the final. He also was nicked by a sloppy finish at the PODS Championship in March (74 on Sunday to finish T-2 to Sean O'Hair). But Cink's one-shot victory at the Travelers in July over Hunter Mahan put him among the favorites to capture the FedEx Cup, which concludes at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta at the Tour Championship (Sept. 25-28). Woods, who won't be competing because of his knee injury, wouldn't kiss the trophy after winning the Cup last year, but the resilient Cink says he certainly would. "I'm proud I've put myself in this position to win," says Cink, who is an East Lake member and an area resident. . . . Another trophy up for grabs is the Vardon. Resurgent Kenny Perry, 48, had the lowest stroke average on tour (69.51) going into the PGA Championship, with Luke Donald (69.58) and Phil Mickelson (69.59) close behind. "Winning the Vardon Trophy would be huge," Perry says. "I think we're all still going to have that little asterisk by our name because Tiger isn't out here." . . . David Duval won't be at the Tour Championship, but he hopes to continue his improved play during the PGA Tour's fall series in October. Puggy Blackmon, Duval's college coach, says it's not a matter of whether Duval will win again, but when. One wind-blown round at Royal Birkdale (83 on Saturday) bumped Duval off the first page of the leader board at the British Open, but he came back with a 71. At the time, it was his second cut made in 13 events. "To come over here in these conditions and hit it as well as I did tells me what I already knew," Duval said. "The work I'm doing is paying off."