Steady play is key for Cink

Sunday, August 27, 2006 Tiger Woods went from a two-shot lead to five shots behind in a span of six holes. AKRON (AP) — Stewart Cink kept plugging away with a few clutch pars and enough birdies that he figured would keep him close to the lead. The surprise came when he glanced at a scoreboard and saw who he was chasing Saturday in the Bridgestone Invitational. It wasn't Tiger Woods. Before long, it wasn't even Davis Love III. Cink was steady as Woods and Love took turns stumbling on Firestone South, shooting a 6-under 64 to take a one-shot lead over Woods, Love and Paul Casey of England in a World Golf Championship that quickly turned into a free-for-all. Tiger's troubles "I was a little surprised because it's Tiger Woods and the way he's playing lately," Cink said. "But the way the course is, even the great Tiger Woods can make some bogeys out there." Did he ever. Woods made four straight bogeys — his longest such streak on the PGA Tour in nearly 10 years — and went from a two-shot lead to five shots behind in a span of six holes. He managed a smile at the end of the third round because Love also let everyone back into the tournament by losing a three-shot lead. "I was lucky to keep myself in the ball game," Woods said. "Davis had a chance to run away, but the lead is 9 [under] and I'm only one back. So it's a big positive." Cink has positive vibes two, especially under these circumstances. His last PGA Tour victory came two years ago at Firestone, a week after he was a captain's pick for the Ryder Cup team. Cink was picked again Monday, and he finds himself 18 holes away from another victory. But there's one big difference this year. Had 5-shot lead Cink, who was at 9-under 201, had a five-shot lead going into the final round two years ago. "I've got a lot more of a dog fight on my hands," Cink said. "I don't control my own destiny nearly as much as I did at that time. So it feels quite differently. The one thing that is a common thread is I've played well and putted well this week." Love took advantage of Woods' collapse by running off three straight birdies around the turn to build a three-shot lead, but he gave them all back over the final seven holes, including a 3-foot par putt he missed on the 16th. He wound up with a 70. Woods settled down on the back nine and picked up two birdies for a 1-over 71, ending his streak of 11 consecutive rounds in the 60s and 17 consecutive subpar rounds. All that mattered was being only one shot behind, especially after trailing Love by five shots with eight holes to play in the third round. Casey finished strong, rolling in a 15-foot birdie on the 16th and stuffing a wedge into 4 feet for birdie on the 18th to match Cink with a 64, putting him in the final group today with Cink and Woods. He also was surprised how the round unfolded. The reaction "It was a bit of a shock for everybody to see the scores," Casey said. "Thomas [Bjorn] actually noticed it first. He said, 'The tournament has really opened up.' The way Tiger has been playing, I didn't see it coming." Jim Furyk was among five players who had at least a share of the lead Saturday until he dropped shots on two of the last three holes, shooting a 69 to finish at 7-under 203. Lucas Glover (69) was another shot back, followed by Ernie Els (70), Adam Scott (71) and Kevin Stadler (70) at 205. All of them are very much in contention, especially if thunderstorms soften Firestone overnight. Starting times have been moved up for the final round with hopes of finishing today.