Cink-ing Feeling for the PGA Tour
Tournament 1AT (after Tiger) went to Stewart Cink at the Traveler's Championship. Yes, Tiger would not have played this event anyway, no, that doesn't mean that the rest of this season will be the same.
Jason Sobel lists five individuals/groups ready to capitalize on the AT era, Cink included. While the win is a highlight and locks up a spot on the Ryder Cup team (Captain Paul Azinger has said he wants guys that have won on the team), Cink was as close to a lock going into the event as anyone not named Lefty McManBoobs.. Now Cink has seven Top-10s this season and five Top-5s. Given that Cink hasn't missed a team event this decade, he stood a good choice to be a Captain's pick without qualifying automatically, Azinger's desire for winners notwithstanding.
The Ryder Cup subplot is, to me, the most intriguing line of the coming half-season. Even though Woods isn't a Ryder Cup machine, you still want the best player in the world on your team. That said, in the past, the big performances from Americans in team events have come from unlikely sources such as Woody Austin at the President's Cup last year and Scott Verplank in 2006 (undefeated in just two matches that year). Maybe an extra spot for a second-tier player is just what the American team needs. There will be less focus on individual brilliance and more on team play. The Europeans have had huge success relying on relative unknowns to steal points; the Americans may just have an extra unknown or three to try and stop European dominance.