Just fourteen days removed from capturing his inaugural PGA Tour Champions major championship, Stewart Cink finds himself perfectly positioned to secure a second major victory.
The 52-year-old golfer posted a seven-under-par 65 during Friday’s second round at Greystone Golf and Country Club in Birmingham, Alabama, establishing a two-stroke advantage over Charlie Wi at the midway point of the 72-hole Regions Tradition tournament.
At 14-under 130 for the tournament, Cink holds a three-shot margin over South Africa’s Retief Goosen, Thailand’s Thongchai Jaidee, and Alex Cejka from Czechia, while sitting five strokes ahead of New Zealand’s Steven Alker.
Cink duplicated his first-round scoring pattern, recording eight birdies against a single bogey for the consecutive day.
“I made a long putt on 17,” Cink explained. “Had a couple two-putt birdies, a couple pretty simple up-and-downs. It was really nothing for the history books, it was just some good play. The golf course is really receiving the ball really well. You know, the greens are soft, but they’re not spinning back that much so it’s really, it’s very scorable out there.”
Having been raised in Florence, Alabama, approximately 120 miles northwest of Birmingham, Cink expects increased gallery support throughout the weekend due to his proximity to home.
“And it has nothing to do with being on top of the leaderboard,” Cink noted. “They were already coming, so I’m glad they’re going to be here. I’m going to have some of my north and central Alabaman friends and family here the rest of the weekend, so that will be great to see them and hopefully give them something to cheer about.”
Goosen matched Cink and Ken Tanigawa as the only competitors in the 77-player field to post a 65 on Friday, though the South African remained critical of his round.
“If you can drive it well on this course, you’re going to have a lot of short irons in,” Goosen commented. “The greens at the moment are just perfect, but today I missed a lot of fairways in — a couple of really wild ones. Going to go hit a few now and try and see if I can smooth it out.”
Wi produced an outstanding beginning en route to his second straight 66. Starting on the back nine, the 54-year-old opened with five straight birdies, something he believes represents a career first.
“I’ve been hitting my irons really well,” Wi said. “I’ve been hitting them pretty close, so I (gave) myself a lot of opportunities, and I was able to make a couple putts.”
