Early years and education

Cink was born in Huntsville, Alabama, and grew up in nearby Florence, where he attended Bradshaw High School. After completing high school in 1991, he graduated from Georgia Tech in Atlanta in 1995 with a degree in Management, where he played golf for the Yellow Jackets; he turned professional in 1995.

Professional career

After winning the Mexican Open and three events on the Nike Tour (now the Web.com 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. Until his victory in the Open Championship in 2009, 2004 was his most successful season, with a fifth-place finish on the money list and 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.

Cink has struggled on the PGA Tour since winning the 2009 Open Championship, but is exempt through 2014 as a result of his Open win.

Each fall, Cink co-hosts the East Lake Invitational with Billy Andrade at East Lake Golf Club which benefits the East Lake Foundation.

Personal life

Cink and his wife, Lisa, have two sons, Connor and Reagan. Cink is a Christian.

Professional wins (14)

PGA Tour wins (6)

Legend

Major championship (1)

World Golf Championship (1)

Other PGA Tour (4)

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	Margin of victory	Runner(s)-up
1	Jul 27, 1997	Canon Greater Hartford Open	−13 (69-67-65-66=267)	1 stroke	Tom Byrum, Brandel Chamblee, Jeff Maggert
2	Apr 16, 2000	MCI Classic	−14 (71-68-66-65=270)	2 strokes	Tom Lehman
3	Apr 18, 2004	MCI Heritage	−10 (72-69-69-64=274)	Playoff	Ted Purdy
4	Aug 22, 2004	WGC-NEC Invitational	−11 (63-68-68-70=269)	4 strokes	Rory Sabbatini, Tiger Woods
5	Jun 22, 2008	Travelers Championship	−18 (66-64-65-67=262)	1 stroke	Tommy Armour III, Hunter Mahan
6	Jul 19, 2009	The Open Championship	−2 (66-72-71-69=278)	Playoff	Tom Watson

PGA Tour playoff record (2-2)

No.	Year	Tournament	Opponent(s)	Result
1	1998	Canon Greater Hartford Open	Olin Browne, Larry Mize	Browne won with birdie on first extra hole
2	2004	MCI Heritage	Ted Purdy	Won with birdie on fifth extra hole
3	2006	WGC-Bridgestone Invitational	Tiger Woods	Lost to birdie on fourth extra hole
4	2009	The Open Championship	Tom Watson	Won four-hole aggregate playoff, −2 to +4

Nike Tour wins (3)

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	Margin of victory	Runner(s)-up
1	Jun 23, 1996	NIKE Ozarks Open	−16 (68-67-69-68=272)	Playoff	R. W. Eaks
2	Sep 8, 1996	NIKE Colorado Classic	−16 (67-68-67-66=268)	1 stroke	David Berganio, Jr., Michael Christie
3	Oct 20, 1996	NIKE Tour Championship	−7 (66-71-71-73=281)	4 strokes	David Berganio, Jr.

Other wins (5)

• 1996 Mexican Open
• 1999 Mexican Open
• 2006 Wendy's 3-Tour Challenge (with Zach Johnson and Scott Verplank, unofficial event)
• 2007 CVS Caremark Charity Classic (with J. J. Henry)
• 2013 PNC Father Son Challenge (with son Connor)

Major championships

Wins (1)

Year	Championship	54 holes	Winning score	Margin	Runner-up
2009	The Open Championship	3 shot deficit	−2 (66-72-71-69=278)	Playoff 1	Tom Watson

1 Defeated Tom Watson in 4-hole playoff by 6 strokes (Cink: 4-3-4-3=14 / Watson: 5-3-7-5=20)

Results timeline

Tournament	1996	1997	1998	1999
Masters Tournament	DNP	CUT	T23	T27
U.S. Open	T16	T13	T10	T32
The Open Championship	DNP	DNP	T66	DNP
PGA Championship	DNP	DNP	CUT	T3

Tournament	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009
Masters Tournament	T28	CUT	T24	DNP	T17	T20	10	T17	T3	CUT
U.S. Open	T8	3	CUT	T28	CUT	T15	T37	CUT	T14	T27
The Open Championship	T41	T30	T59	T34	T14	CUT	CUT	T6	CUT	1
PGA Championship	T15	T59	T10	CUT	T17	T28	T24	T32	CUT	T67

Tournament	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015
Masters Tournament	CUT	CUT	T50	T25	T14	DNP
U.S. Open	T40	CUT	CUT	CUT	T54	DNP
The Open Championship	T48	T30	CUT	T26	T47	T20
PGA Championship	T18	CUT	CUT	CUT	CUT	DNP

DNP = Did not play
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" = tied
Green background for wins. Yellow background for top-10

Summary

Tournament	Wins	2nd	3rd	Top-5	Top-10	Top-25	Events	Cuts made
Masters Tournament	0	0	1	1	2	9	17	12
U.S. Open	0	0	1	1	3	7	19	13
The Open Championship	1	0	0	1	2	4	17	13
PGA Championship	0	0	1	1	2	5	17	10
Totals	1	0	3	4	9	25	70	48

• Most consecutive cuts made - 7 (1999 Masters - 2000 PGA)
• Longest streak of top-10s - 1 (nine times)

World Golf Championships

Wins (1)

Year	Championship	54 holes	Winning score	Margin of victory	Runners-up
2004	WGC-NEC Invitational	5 shot lead	−11 (63-68-68-70=269)	4 strokes	Rory Sabbatini, Tiger Woods

Results timeline

Tournament	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008
Accenture Match Play Championship	R16	R64	R64	R64	DNP	R32	QF	R64	R16	2
Cadillac Championship	T4	DNP	NT1	DNP	DNP	T23	T46	T13	T45	T20
Bridgestone Invitational	DNP	7	T13	T47	T61	1	T41	2	T56	T43

Tournament	2009	2010	2011
Accenture Match Play Championship	3	QF	R32
Cadillac Championship	T59	T37	DNP
Bridgestone Invitational	T6	T19	T45
HSBC Champions	T51	DNP	DNP

1Cancelled due to September 11, 2001 attacks
DNP = Did not play
QF, R16, R32, R64 = Round in which player lost in match play
"T" = tied
NT = No Tournament
Green background for wins. Yellow background for top-10.
Note that the HSBC Champions did not become a WGC event until 2009.

U.S. national team appearances

Professional

• Presidents Cup: 2000 (winners), 2005 (winners), 2007 (winners), 2009 (winners)
• Ryder Cup: 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008 (winners), 2010
• WGC-World Cup: 2005, 2006

[ Source: Wikipedia ]