| -21: S Cink; -19: H Higgs; -18: D Redman, C Reavie, K Streelman, B Stuard |
| Selected others: -16: R Knox (Sco); -14: C Schwartzel (SA); -12: B Taylor (Eng) |
| Full leaderboard |
Stewart Cink claimed a first win since 2009 with a two-shot victory at the PGA Tour’s Safeway Open in California.
The American carded eight birdies for a seven-under-par 65 to reached 21 under overall and see off the challenge of compatriot Harry Higgs.
Cink’s last win came at the 2009 Open Championship – 4,074 days earlier – and since then he has helped support wife Lisa as she was treated for cancer.
“I definitely had a lot of emotions out there today,” said the 47-year-old.
“I just was overcome at a few times with a feeling of gratitude and just feeling like how fortunate I am to be in the position that I’m in.”
Cink had son Reagan acting as his caddie at Silverado Country Club in Napa and his wife walked alongside the pair on every hole.
“The last four or five holes of a PGA Tour event your name’s on top of the leaderboard, but think about it, I’ve got my son caddieing for me, my wife is in almost five‑year remission now and she’s walking out there just on the side of the ropes, and at 47 I’m able to compete at the highest level and now not just compete, but win,” Cink added.
Cink’s seventh PGA Tour win – in the opening event of the 2020-21 season – arrived 23 years after his first. The success will secure his Tour card past the point of his 50th birthday and also earns him entry into the 2021 Masters at Augusta.
He made three birdies in his closing four holes to claim the title from 28-year-old Higgs, who has never won on the PGA Tour.
Round-three leaders Brian Stuard, Cameron Percy and James Hahn all fell out of contention, while Scotland’s Russell Knox was two under for his final round to end tied for ninth on 16 under.
The second men’s major of the year, the US Open, begins at Winged Foot in New York on Thursday.
