Stewart Cink was at TPC Sugarloaf in Duluth, Georgia this weekend, playing in the PGA Tour Champions Mitsubichi Electric Championship. The venue brought back many memories for the veteran player, including a very special one involving Tiger Woods.
Like everyone in the golf world, Stewart Cink remembers vividly the moment he discovered the true greatness of Tiger Woods. Like the rest of us, that certainty came to Cink all at once, with just one wedge stroke from Woods.
“That was the time when we were all astonished” Cink said for the PGA Tour Champions news service.”Like, ‘oh my gosh, what can this guy not do?'”
The moment remembered by Stewart Cink occurred at TPC Sugarloaf in 1998, no less. Both Cink and Tiger Woods were playing in the Bell South Classic, and Woods pulled off one of the many spectacular plays he made during his illustrious career.
Rewind to 1998 at TPC Sugarloaf. Tiger Woods found himself in a precarious position—a delicate chip shot from the rough. The ball sat awkwardly, between rocks and partially buried in mud. Woods addressed the ball, his mind calculating minute adjustments. He knew he had to get it right. And he did. The ball landed softly, defying gravity, and stayed put. It was an improbable save, a testament to Woods’ mastery of the game.
A vintage Tiger escape.
In 1998, @TigerWoods improbably saved par from the rocks en route to victory @TPCSugarloaf. pic.twitter.com/iHxS1BVApX
— PGA TOUR Champions (@ChampionsTour) April 24, 2024
Tiger Woods eventualmente ganó el torneo con un score de 17 under, un golpe por delante de Jay Don Blake. Later, in a press conference, he humbly acknowledged the near-miss: “I could have gotten it closer, but I’ll take it.” That moment, etched in golf lore, epitomized Tiger Wood’s relentless pursuit of excellence.
Tiger Woods and Stewart ‘Kitchen’ Cink
Stewart Cink and Tiger Woods have maintained a well-known friendship over the years, so they have many stories in common. A very well known and humorous one is the one referring to the nickname of Stewart Cink, who is known as ‘Kitchen’ and Woods claimed that he had been the author of such nickname.
Tiger doing @TigerWoods things 🐅⁰⁰@StewartCink recalls the moment he knew Woods was different. https://t.co/vNckTLuIVV pic.twitter.com/z69pjzamwA
— PGA TOUR Champions (@ChampionsTour) April 25, 2024
In The Masters 2022, the matter came to light and Cink took the opportunity to clarify the authorship of the nickname:
“It’s been something that people called me ever since I was little,” dijo Cink según Golf Monthly. “Ever since I can remember. Tiger thinks he started that, but he did not start that.”
“I’ve been referred to as ‘Kitchen’ ever since I was a little kid playing golf back in Florence, Alabama growing up. There was a guy named Tim Kitchens who I played in a couple partner events with up there everybody just thought that was the funniest thing that Kitchens and Cink were playing together. And I was 13, 14 years old when that happened, people been calling me that for years.”
“Tiger’s got nicknames for everybody just like we have for him and everybody else too. It’s is part of the locker room banter.”
The truth is that everyone in the golf world has tons of memories involving Tiger Woods. Even a major champion like Stewart Cink.
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