GRAND BLANC, Mich. – Stewart Cink successfully defended his title at The Ally Challenge, earning his second victory of the year on the PGA Tour Champions. Cink defeated Ernie Els in a playoff, securing the win with a par on the first hole. Cink finished with a round of 68 strokes, four under par, achieving birdies on two of the last three holes to tie Els at 15 under par, with a total of 201 strokes at Warwick Hills. Els, for his part, completed the last five holes with pars, resulting in a card of 69 strokes.
Cink, 52, had already triumphed at the Insperity Invitational in May in Texas, beating Retief Goosen in another playoff. Throughout his career, Cink has won eight times on the PGA Tour, highlighting his victory at The Open in 2009. At the start of the tournament, Cink signed a card of 62 strokes and then a 71 on Friday, which left him one stroke behind Els before the final round. Steven Alker (65), Cameron Percy (70), and Soren Kjeldsen (70) shared third place at 12-under. Retief Goosen (71) and Thongchai Jaidee (69) finished at 11-under.I’m not sure if this adds or subtracts years from your life, because it’s quite stressful. But if you’re the one who wins, if you’re on the winning side, then it feels great. It was a lot of fun. I putted really well down the stretch. Ernie wasn’t doing anything wrong, he was just in the wrong place today.
Stewart Cink
