ASCENSION CHARITY CLASSIC

September 7, 2024

Stewart Cink

Norwood Hills Country Club

Quick Quotes

Q. All right, Stewart, in with a second consecutive 67. After two rounds, what are your thoughts on today's round?

STEWART CINK: It was a little scrappy, especially early on. Just didn't quite have a really good flow going, and I was missing shots left and right a little bit. Just kind of ugly.

And then I went to the turn and I just felt like if I could shoot 4-under on the back nine that I would get myself sort of back in position, having really no idea what the leaders were doing.

But I started off 2, 2 on the back nine, which I don't think I've ever done in my career, back-to-back 2s, so that was cool. I kind of stressed myself out trying make a third consecutive 2 on the 12th hole and missed the green with a 7-iron.

So lesson learned there.

2, 2, and I'm 3-under for the day all of a sudden. You know, the rest of the back nine was a little bit more of myself. I played solid and nothing spectacular, but I'm in there, so...

Q. Talk us through 10 and 11. What did you hit at 10, how close?

STEWART CINK: 10, I learned a lot from yesterday. Hit probably the worst shot I hit in a month yesterday on 10. Decided that it's way better on that type of a hole when the wind is from the right to use the wind to slow the ball down if you don't have a perfect yardage and cut it up against.

Yesterday I tried to hit this little like eight to ten yards off a 7-iron and just, it was bad. So today I hit an aggressive hold cut up against the wind. Slowed the ball down and hit a beautiful shot.

Kirk Triplett gave me a real nice read right before my putt so I knew the break; made that.

Good drive on 11. That's a short par-4. You can drive the green easily. My game plan this week has been to try to hit it over the green because of the slope. I hit it a little right but got into a pretty decent spot and just dumped it on the green and kind of had a collision with the flagstick and went in.

Q. Talk about 16. Looked like you got a little break there.

STEWART CINK: Yeah, 16 was just kind of -- it was a bad shot off the tee. Just a little push. I got very fortunate that my ball was up under the trees in a bare lie in the rough. There is significant rough on this course and you cannot curve ball from this rough.

So I was in this hardpan and I had access to the back of the ball so I could put curve on it. I needed to curve it left to right a lot. I was able to start it right where I wanted to. I saw it curve, but then it got behind a tree and it was an awesome moment. I told my caddie, I love it. I can't see it, but I love it. We both watched and the ball came out of the sky like it was in a parachute right down by the hole.

You know, that was definitely a highlight moment of the day.

Q. Looked like on 17 you got a little break off the tee. Sort of got through the bunker or over it. Looked like you hit a pretty good shot in there. Were you surprised that it finished back down the hill?

STEWART CINK: Not really, because the wind was ought of right there and my ball was curving with it just a little. So any ball that was going to land on that top was going to have a little bit of left spin, and I was just a little more left than I needed to be.

As soon as to landed I felt like it was probably going down. That's a pretty steep hill. Ball goes a long way so you end up with a long putt.

Q. You said couple days ago coming off the win there is that desire to back it up to show that you got something going. You feel like you're doing that even though you were maybe a little inconsistent on the first nine today?

STEWART CINK: Yeah, I think that expectation management is really the first round, and then once you get a round or a little bit more than a round, like today, under your belt, it's more about you're back in the present. The past is the past.

So I've played okay so far this week. Nothing really great. I've been a little sloppy here and there but still managing myself really well. Just not putting the ball in places that are just really dead.

And so that's kind of been a hallmark of my golf over the life of my career. I don't see that changing tomorrow. I'm going to continue to beat the course up like that. Like my son used to say when he caddied for me, bludgeon the course to death.

Q. Looking forward to tomorrow, how meaningful would it be for you to join the four other multiple winners this season, become the fifth multiple winner on the Champions Tour back to back?

STEWART CINK: Well, it was be amazing to win the Ascension. That is the number one thing, multiple or not. There is plenty of great company out here to join every time you take a step forward, but my focus tomorrow will be on tomorrow and this tournament.

And, yeah, I came out it the PGA TOUR champions to compete and I'm looking forward to competing and getting juices flowing tomorrow and getting nervous and getting that knot in my stomach. Putting myself to the test again. That's what we all love to do.