After winning the
Mexican Open and three events on the
Nike Tour (now the
Korn Ferry Tour) in 1996, Cink joined the
PGA Tour in 1997 and won the
Canon Greater Hartford Open in his rookie season. Cink performed consistently on the Tour over the next few years, picking up another win at the 2000
MCI Classic. Cink contended in the 2001 U.S. Open, missing the playoff by a single stroke after making a double-bogey on the 72nd hole. In 2004, Cink finished in fifth-place on the money list and had wins at the
MCI Heritage and at the
WGC-NEC Invitational, which is one of the
World Golf Championships events. On February 24, 2008, Cink was the runner-up in the
WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship played in
Marana, Arizona, falling 8 & 7 in the 36-hole final to top-ranked
Tiger Woods. In June 2008, he reached his highest ever ranking, sixth, in the
Official World Golf Rankings with his victory at the
Travelers Championship in suburban
Hartford. On July 19, 2009, Cink won his first major title at the
138th Open Championship at
Turnberry, Scotland, defeating 59-year-old, five-time champion
Tom Watson by six strokes in a four-hole
playoff. Cink had birdied the 72nd hole while Watson bogeyed, which forced the playoff. On September 13, 2020, Cink won the
Safeway Open for his first win since the 2009 Open Championship. On April 18, 2021, Cink won the
RBC Heritage for the third time. He became the fourth player to win twice in the same PGA Tour season after turning 47, the others being
Sam Snead,
Julius Boros and
Kenny Perry (who did it two times). Cink broke the lowest 36-hole score and 54-hole score record for the tournament. ==Personal life==