	products recent interviews FastScripts archive about ASAP Sports

Our Clients:

Browse by Sport

Find us on

Subscribe to RSS

Click to go to
Asaptext.com

View our
e-Brochure

TRAVELERS CHAMPIONSHIP

June 24, 2018

Stewart Cink

Cromwell, Connecticut

Q. Stewart, thank you so much for your time. I was out there with you for the majority of the day. It was a special day. When did you start to think that maybe something very big was going to happen?
STEWART CINK: I thought before the round, actually, I might have a good sort of peaceful, calm feeling about today. I didn't feel like that much pressure to perform or hold on to anything. I just had a good -- I had a good night last night. My wife flew into town two days ago and she's been traveling with me a lot lately, so when she wasn't here, it felt weird. So when she came in and we got in the hang for this weekend, I just felt like I had a good vibe out there from the git-go. I birdied the first hole, birdied the second hole, and made a long one on three and kind of kept it going.

Q. I know what you're talking about having a little family on the road with you can change a lot. At any point out there were you thinking about something with a 5 in front of it? Did it cross your mind, because it crossed my mind, and I'm sure our listeners were all going, okay, something's going to happen here. You're a two-time champion here, what is it about TPC River Highlands?
STEWART CINK: About the course, I think it's a course that most everybody comes here and enjoys playing quite a bit. It's a fun course. It's challenging, it fits a lot of different styles of play. It's not a long course, but length does serve as an advantage here. But I think it's a course that a lot of people really do enjoy playing. I'm one of those people, I think this course presents a lot of challenges, and it's not the same thing we see every week, 500 yard par-4s. It's a course we all enjoy.

As far as the score with the 5 in front of it, I did think about it one time today. It brought me really close on 15 for birdie. I thought about 59, and I thought that's actually an exercise I use to practice. To shoot better than 59 and think about what kind of scenarios I'm going to be in and how I'm going to handle myself.

And I was thinking I don't want to just stop at 59, and unfortunately, I wasted my chance, because I have to make more than just a birdie on the next three holes to do 58. But also thought it was worth thinking about it could mean in the bigger picture like tournament, and winning the Travelers Championship would mean more to me.

Q. In my opinion I could give you a large bucket on 17 and let you hit that putt every time the same way. I think you'd be surprised it didn't go in every time. Is that correct? Did you love it as much as I did?
STEWART CINK: I loved it. Those left to right putts are not the easiest for us righties. It was only about a 12-footer, and it broke about close to two feet. I hit it really nice. I hit it solid and it's one of those you definitely want to put in the memory banks. Because I think the one on 17 definitely better than the one on 18.

Q. I'm here with Stewart Cink who shot a stellar final round 62. I don't know if you got the memo, but yesterday was moving day. You did great out there today. Shot a 29 on your front nine. At what point, if at all, did that special sub-60 round creep into your mind?
STEWART CINK: It did creep into my mind after I birdied 15. I had three holes left to go, and I knew I needed three birdie to shoot 59. But quickly I remembered the golf tournament was on the line. And it would mean a lot more to me to win the Travelers Championship than to shoot a 59. Scores don't matter as much as winning does. So I thought about it, and quickly gathered myself and hit it over the green and bogeyed.

But, no, it crossed my mind. But when you're out there in the moment, you're just trying to think about executing the shots and kind of embracing the challenges ahead.

Q. You have played well lately, T-4 in your last start at the FedEx St. Jude Classic. Things clicking for you right now?
STEWART CINK: Yeah, they feel like they are a little bit. You know, I improved my putting a lot the last couple tournaments and I worked hard on that. I actually made some changes and I've seen some results quickly. Almost like, wow, quickly. So it's been really nice to see that. This week was a good week driving the ball for me all week. I was really on with the driver. The course isn't the longest, but if you can keep it in play, length does matter here. You can get yourself a lot of short shots to the green, and take advantage of the few par-5s that there are?

Q. So good vibes rite now. What do you think? Will you go back and watch and hang around?
STEWART CINK: We'll hang on a little bit, but don't think it's enough to come close to winning. But I'll hang around for a little while and see if anybody finishes there.

Q. When you began the day, did you think you'd hit this close and be within two shots of the leader when you walked off today?
STEWART CINK: The only thing I was thinking about today was I had a really good heart of gratitude today before the round. I just felt really calm about today. I knew I was playing with Charley Hoffman who is an easy guy to play with can. I love playing here. These fans have been great all week. The other thing I thought was Kevin Streelman. Kevin Streelman I remembered birdied the last 7, I think, to win this tournament and shot a really low score. I just felt like you need to play all the holes here. You never know what's going to happen.

So, no, I never really thought I had the chance to win the tournament, but I knew my position gave me a chance to really shoot up and pass a lot of guys today, and that's exactly what's going to happen.

Q. At what point, Stewart, did you think, hey, I've got it going really well here?
STEWART CINK: Before the round started, way before. Like I said, I just felt really calm. I felt at peace about today before I got to the golf course, which was nice. It carried over to the putting green, to the range, to the short game area, to the first tee and all the way through the round. Even the holes I bogeyed I hit one poor shot today, and it was the shot on 11. Everything else, I hit a great shot on 16, right at my target. I flushed it and it flew the green.

So I don't know what else I would have done different there. But all day I felt really peaceful. I was intense, and, well, also being calm, it was a really fun day out there. We had a great time.

Q. First time you won here you were 13-under. Any chance this one holds up this time? Are you waiting around for a while?
STEWART CINK: Well, we've seen crazier things happen, but I don't think it's going to have a chance to hold up. The last -- you know, the last six or seven holes are gettable, very gettable out there. There's a pretty good group of guys just one shot behind me. So I don't think it's going to hold up to win, but I'm proud of what I did out there today. To finish that way with a birdie putt on 18 was a sweet feeling.

Q. You mentioned you've won here twice. What is it about this course that fits your game?
STEWART CINK: Well, I think this course fits a lot of games. It doesn't just fit mine. I feel comfortable playing here because I like the way the holes are shaped off the tee. The greens I feel like I can see the breaks. We use this little greens book to determine the slopes and give us clues, but I'm almost never different than the greens book says. I almost always have it nailed with my eyes and that's not the case at every course.

So here I feel really comfortable reading these greens, and the speed is something I'm comfortable and accustomed to and comfortable with to. Over four days it just adds up to pretty efficient golf here a lot of the years. This week was a good example of that. I drove it well, I putted well for the most part, and today really everything kind of came together and it all clicked at once.

Q. You know the history, obviously, and the names similar to yours on the trophy here that have won it twice are pretty special. Casper four times. To get to a third time and leave a couple other great names behind you, how much would that mean to win this for a third time?
STEWART CINK: It would mean a lot. It's a different tournament than the Travelers Championship was in 1997. The sponsor has really come in here and really improved this tournament quite a bit. So I just think it's a fantastic place to be. The field improvement continues, and you get guys like Rory here and Jordan Spieth keeps coming back continually. It's awesome to see those guys play here. It's positioned in a really big part of the FedExCup season. We're hitting the stretch run here. I know a lot of players are thinking about that.

So if it were to be enough and some crazy things happen and I end up in a playoff and winning this thing, it would be phenomenal, and I'd be over the moon about it.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297