Cink holds on to narrow advantage

Stewart Cink looked from his ball to the cup on the eighth hole at Harbour Town Golf Links. He saw the 20 feet of fringe, the hump about 10 feet from the cup and the 3 feet of break he needed to play.

These days, that's hardly a problem for Cink.

"As soon as it left the putter I felt like it had a chance to go in," Cink said Saturday. The unlikely birdie started Cink's rally back to the top with a 69 and left him with a one-stroke lead after three rounds of the MCI Heritage.

"That's confidence," Cink said. "That's the way I've been feeling over a lot of my putts."

And it's a good feeling for a player who struggled with fears of growing success and potential failure the past two years.

Cink, whose second and most recent PGA Tour win came here three years ago, might be best known for missing an 18-inch putt that would have gotten him into a U.S. Open playoff in 2001. But after two seasons of worries and a fading game, Cink says he's finally found the peace and enthusiasm he needs to win.

Just look at this round. Cink came in with a one-shot lead. But fell three strokes behind playing partner Hal Sutton after seven holes. Perhaps some of those old worries had showed up again.

This, however, is a different Cink, where failure is not an end, but a beginning of something better.

"To come back on eight with a good putt and birdied 10, 11, that's where I've been helped quite a bit," Cink said. "I've really grown."

Cink stood at 12-under 201, a stroke ahead of Jeff Sluman, who had the day's best round of 64.

Woody Austin (65) and Kenny Perry (67) were at 10 under. Four-time MCI Heritage champion Davis Love III (69), Hal Sutton (71), Steve Flesch (67) and Chad Campbell (70) were another shot behind.

Cink had trouble controlling his shots early. He drove into some pine straw on the second hole and into a trap on the fifth, both par 5s that normally bring birdies. However, Cink left with pars both times.

He lost the lead when Sutton made a downhill, 40-footer for birdie on No. 6, then followed another Sutton birdie on No. 7 with a bogey to go three shots down.

"I didn't really consider my start to be that rough," Cink said.

That's when things turned for Cink. He made a 35-foot birdie on the 8th hole, rolling it in from a smooth grassy area off the green. Cink added birdies on the 10th and 11th holes - both from about 20 feet - to retake the lead.

"I just felt so calm on those putts," he said. "I was not surprised to see either one of those go in."

A bogey on the 12th pushed Cink back into a tie with Sluman. But the 29-year-old, who has not won since his victory here three years ago, rallied again with a final birdie on the 16th hole.

Sluman started the round six shots behind Cink and charged to the front with seven birdies, including four in a row on the back nine.

"Historically, every week, somebody makes a big run on Saturday," said Sluman, whose last PGA Tour victory came at the Greater Milwaukee Open a year ago. "I felt as if I was playing well enough I could make a few putts that maybe I could be the guy to shoot a good number. I've done it in the past."

Especially the past few years here. Sluman shot 67-68-67 the final three rounds in 1999, losing a three-way playoff to Glen Day. Sluman put up a 66 and 65 on the way to a 10th place finish in last year's tournament.

Sluman's round took off with a 12-foot birdie putt on No. 12. After a birdie on 13, Sluman made a 35-footer on the par-3 14th. "It's just one of those ones that just goes in and you have no explanation for it," he said.

Sluman closed his run with a 6-foot birdie putt on the 15th hole.

Sutton seemed the one on the rise, with three birdies in his first seven holes. But his round came apart with bogeys on the ninth and 12th holes, and a disastrous double bogey on the 14th when Sutton called a penalty on himself for double-striking a chip.

"It was the right thing to do," Sutton said. "I have to look at myself in the mirror."

Divots: Davis Love III usually has all the shots at Harbour Town. In this round, he made bogey after his tee shot on the par-3 14th backed up onto a wooden crosstie. ... Bernhard Langer, the 1985 MCI Heritage champ, will be the guest speaker at an Easter sunrise service behind the 18th green at Harbour Town Golf Links. ... Mark Bryant, guitarist for the band Hootie and the Blowfish, was following Woody Austin. Several golfers, including Fred Couples and Jay Haas, have appeared in the band's video.

Email this page to a friend | Return to top of page