Stewart Cink pumped his right fist, then smiled. His son and wife cheered from just off the 17th green at Harbour Town Golf Links. He had just done something Sunday he hadn’t done over the last 3 hours and 30 minutes or so.
Make a putt longer than a yard stick.
His 7-foot, 8-inch bomb for birdie was, surprisingly, his longest made putt to that point during the final round of the RBC Heritage — by a whopping 5 feet, 5 inches. Cink entered Sunday with a five-shot lead and ended it up by four — and through 16 holes, he hadn’t made a putt long enough to come up to his knee.
And yet, he wasn’t defensive, either. He didn’t center-of-the-green Harbour Town to victory — he hit only 12 of 18 greens — and he missed seven putts under 20 feet. But from those points, Cink simply cleaned up and moved on.
With son as caddie, 47-year-old Stewart Cink dominates at RBC Heritage
“That’s what you need to do around here — keep it in play, which he’s done, hit the greens in the right places,” analyst Nick Faldo said on the CBS broadcast.
On the front nine, where he shot a one-under 35, Cink made 11 feet, 3 inches worth of putts, the longest being 2 feet, 3 inches on the par-4 3rd hole. On the back, where he shot even-par 36, things got wild. He made 21 feet, 1 inch of putts, behind the 7-footer on 17, and a 4-foot, 8-incher on 18.
In all, Cink made 32 feet, 4 inches of putts over the entire round. Which, amazingly, is well short (no pun intended) of the record. CBS reported during the broadcast that the record for the fewest feet of putts made by a champion was 25 feet, 8 inches by Zach Johnson in 2009.
“I was proud of myself for sticking to my guns, the game plan, and just tee to green my execution was — today was one of my best ball-striking days I’ve had in my life,” Cink said. “It was awesome. I’m definitely going to be writing some notes down about my hitting the last four rounds.”
A breakdown of all 18 holes:
Stewart Cink’s made putt distances
FRONT NINE
‘That was amazing:’ How Stewart Cink hit with his ball balanced on a stick
405-yard, par-4 1st hole
Birdie putt (from fringe): 25 feet, 1 inch
Par putt: 8 inches
503-yard, par-5 2nd hole
Birdie putt: 8 feet, 6 inches
Par putt: 13 inches
468-yard, par-4 3rd hole
Birdie putt: 22 feet, 4 inches
Par putt: 2 feet, 3 inches
181-yard, par-3 4th hole
Birdie putt (from fringe): 30 feet, 8 inches
Par putt: 2 inches
530-yard, par-5 5th hole
Eagle chip from 53 feet, 11 inches away
Birdie putt: 2 feet, 2 inches
427-yard, par-4 6th hole
Birdie putt (from fringe): 16 feet, 3 inches
Par putt: 9 inches
187-yard, par-3 7th hole
Birdie putt (from fringe): 44 feet, 3 inches
Par putt: 2 feet, 2 inches
475-yard, par-4 8th hole
Birdie putt: 15 feet, 1 inch
Par putt: 18 inches
312-yard, par-4 9th hole
Birdie putt: 16 feet, 1 inch
Par putt: 6 inches
Front nine total for putts made: 11 feet, 3 inches (135 inches)
BACK NINE
Why is Stewart Cink succeeding at 47? He has a pre-round ‘system’ to thank
454-yard, par-4 10th hole
Birdie putt: 43 feet, 9 inches
Par putt: 4 inches
425-yard, par-4 11th hole
Birdie putt: 32 feet, 1 inch
Par putt: 2 feet, 3 inches
432-yard, par-4 12th hole
Birdie putt (from fringe): 56 feet, 8 inches
Par putt: 7 feet, 8 inches
Bogey putt: 12 inches
370-yard, par-4 13th hole
Birdie putt: 18 feet, 1 inch
Par putt: 2 feet
197-yard, par-4 14th hole
Birdie putt: 33 feet, 3 inches
Par putt: 10 inches
588-yard, par-5 15th hole
Birdie putt: 19 feet, 5 inches
Par putt: 19 inches
400-yard, par-4 16th hole
Birdie putt: 26 feet, 11 inches
Par putt: 9 inches
179-yard, par-3 17th hole
Birdie putt: 7 feet, 8 inches
462-yard, par-4 18th hole
Birdie putt (from fringe): 49 feet, 3 inches
Par putt: 4 feet, 8 inches
Back nine total for putts made: 21 feet, 1 inch (253 inches)
Total: 32 feet, 4 inches (388 inches)