Cink sinks birdie to pull past Purdy; Jenkins nets 5th win
Cink overcame a nine-stroke deficit to force a playoff.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. -- Stewart Cink's no longer the guy who frets about every missed putt, no matter if it's on the practice green or in the U.S. Open.
So when he missed two chances to win on makeable putts of about 15 feet during a five-hole playoff with Ted Purdy in the MCI Heritage, Cink stayed strong and confident.
"Now I don't get afraid anymore when I miss putts, because I know it doesn't mean anything except the ball doesn't go in the hole," Cink said Sunday. "Everybody misses putts. I'm one of the best putters on tour and I know that."
Cink overcame a nine-stroke deficit, shooting a 7-under 64 -- highlighted by an eagle and six birdies -- to match Purdy at 10-under 274 on the Harbour Town course. Purdy started the round with a four-shot lead, but struggled to a 73.
After the two players matches pars on the first four extra holes, Cink rolled in a 6-foot birdie putt for the victory after Purdy made par on the par-4 16th.
Checking the tape
After the celebration and champion's ceremony, Cink and PGA Tour tournament director Slugger White went off to review tape of a marvelous shot from the waste bunker that set up the winning birdie. The PGA Tour had gotten calls that Cink had improved his lie when he removed stones and loose impediments from around his ball.
After they watched the tape "10 or 12 times, rolled it up, rolled it back, rolled it up, rolled it back," White said. "The determination was that he was within his rights."
Purdy didn't see Cink's setup. Even if Purdy did, he certainly didn't want his first PGA Tour win handed to him on a technicality.
"I didn't bring it up," Purdy said. "But it was some shot."
Purdy had a chance to win in regulation with a birdie putt inside of 10 feet on No. 18, but he slipped it left to lead to the tournament's third playoff in four years.
"That was the easiest putt you can have, pretty straight putt," he said. "And I guess I was a little jumpy and I pulled it."
Purdy also missed a 15-foot try on the first extra hole that would have given him a victory.
Cink started fast with birdies on the second and third holes. He gained more momentum with a 20-footer for eagle on the par-5 fifth hole.
Cink made consecutive birdies on Nos. 9 and 10 to keep the pressure on. After his only bogey at No. 11, Cink surged again with birdies on the 15th hole and on the 18th, jabbing his fist in the air as the ball disappeared.
Champions Tour
MILTON, Fla. -- Tom Jenkins shot a 7-under 63 for a five-stroke victory over Australia's Rodger Davis in the Blue Angels Classic. Jenkins finished at 14-under 196 for his fifth Champions Tour victory.
Davis shot a 65, capped by five birdies on the back nine. Gil Morgan (70), Jim Ahern (65) and Wayne Levi (67) tied for third at 8-under.
Morgan, the second-round leader, and started the day a stroke ahead of Jenkins, who immediately caught up with a birdie on the 406-yard, par-4 first hole. Morgan bogeyed the next hole to cede a one-stroke lead to Jenkins, who made par.
Jenkins never gave up the lead. He birdied four of the next seven holes, while Morgan continued to shoot par. Only a bogey on the par-4 sixth hole marred Jenkins' surge. Morgan, the tour's money leader, finished with a 70.