Quick hits at Quail Hollow: Cink, Flesch and more

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CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- One bad shot in the first round nearly dashed Stewart Cink's chances at the Wachovia Championship.

Stewart Cink turned around a negative round. (Heathcote/WireImage)

Cink's tee shot at the par-5 15th hole, his sixth on Thursday after beginning his round at No. 10, flew far to the right and landed out of bounds. He assessed himself a penalty stroke, re-teed and wound up bogeying the hole.

"From that shot through the next seven holes, it was like an out-of-body experience," Cink said. "I bogeyed five holes out of seven. I couldn't get my rhythm, couldn't calm down and had a lot of trouble."

Suddenly, he was looking at missing the cut, something he's only done once in nine starts this year. In fact, Cink has been so consistent he has finished outside the top 10 just three times in those nine starts.

"Finally, I stepped back and said, you are still the same person," Cink said. "Do what you know to do. I played 4 under from there on in for the last six holes."

Cink sank a 41-footer for eagle at No. 7 to finish with a 73. His second-round score of 70 placed tied for 39th at 1 under heading into the weekend.

In the Flesch

The Green Jacket went to Trevor Immelman last month, but it nearly rested on the shoulders of Steve Flesch.

Flesch came to No. 12 at Augusta National that Sunday just two shots out of the lead at the Masters. But Amen Corner claimed another victim when Flesch dunked his tee shot into Rae's Creek and made double bogey. He lost six strokes on the final seven holes and tied for fifth.

Flesch shared 29th the following week at the Verizon Heritage and has continued his solid play at the Wachovia Championship. Flesch shot a 4-under 68 Friday to jump from a tie for 72nd into a tie for 18th.

"It's my time of year. I always play well once we get out of the West Coast and Florida," Flesch, a Kentucky resident, said. "Once we get to that April/May time of year, this is the weather I grew up in and these are the types of courses and grass I grew up on."

Though he lost that ball to the water at Augusta National, he gained a new-found popularity. The left-hander can't make it through an airport now without attracting attention.

"Flying home the next week from Hilton Head, I had people in the airport saying, 'Hey, nice playing at the Masters'," Flesch said.

Kudos to those fans for identifying him. With a hat and his unique University of Kentucky-inscribed golf bag, it's easy to pick him out on the course. But off the course, the bald golfer is surprised to be recognized.

"Normally, when I take my hat off and have no hair, I look drastically different," Flesch said. "But it's amazing how many people (spot me) and how many watch a major on national television."

Loving Quail Hollow

The usual suspects -- Tiger Woods, Vijay Singh, Jim Furyk -- and past champions like Joey Sindelar and David Toms rank high on the Wachovia Championship's all-time stats sheet.

But there's a surprising name also in their mix: Carlos Franco.

Steve Flesch is still getting kudos from his Masters play. (Lecka/WireImage)

Averaging 71.14 strokes a round, he's No. 6 among the scoring leaders at Quail Hollow Club. In just four starts Franco has amassed over $500,000 and is 11th on the tournament's career money list.

"I don't like it (here)," Franco said. "I love it. I love this course. There are many tough holes that you have to play good; you have to putt good. I'm happy when I play here."

Franco, a four-time PGA TOUR winner, made six birdies on Friday but bogeyed four times en route to a second-round 70. Still, at 2 under par after two rounds, he's not out of the hunt.

A tie for 19th at the PGA TOUR National Qualifying Tournament made him fully exempt for the TOUR in 2008, enabling him to return to the Wachovia Championship.

An old-school style

Quail Hollow Club is a course that rewards shot-making, a layout where smart tactics can outweigh the long bomb.

As cliche as it sounds, that's what players consistently rave about when it comes to this week's tree-lined, challenging host venue.

"I think everyone enjoys playing golf courses that are difficult, as long as it rewards good shots," said Jim Furyk, winner of the 2006 Wachovia Championship.

The 37-year-old Furyk is gifted at crafting different shots when need be. If a hole calls for a cut or draw, he uses his unorthodox but highly effective swing to maneuver the ball into his selected spot.

Shot-making, he explained, can be learned with time and experience.

"As a kid, (it's) see how far you can hit it, hit it high, bomb it, go chase it down, bomb it again," Furyk said. "In order to play here and play in the tournaments I needed to play well in, ... I tried to learn (to maneuver the ball) from guys that were better than me and had more experience than me early in my career."

Modern equipment is designed for distance, though, not maneuverability. So with courses growing ever longer, it's small wonder that shot-making is an increasingly rare craft.

"My generation gets criticized a lot that (TOUR professionals) used to hit more shots back in the '50s, '60s and '70s," Furyk said. "And they absolutely did. They were better shot-makers.

"But I think the style of courses they played, the setups that they played and the equipment that they played called for that to happen."

A Sixth Sense

The par-3 sixth hole at Quail Hollow Club is statistically one of the longest and toughest on the PGA TOUR. In 2007, it played at 250 yards and had a 3.233 scoring average, making it the fourth-hardest par 3 on TOUR last season.

"I hit a great pitch shot on that sixth hole, that 320-yard par 3, or whatever it is that we play it," Steve Flesch said sarcastically after the second round. "(Seriously), it's a par 3 at 240 something. We were all hitting rescue clubs and 3-woods and I mis-hit it (today).

"We were laughing because I had to walk off my yardage on my second shot on a par three. I had 47 yards for my second shot. ... I guess we all better get in the gym to work out."

Despite the yardage, one player finally bested the beast and made a hole-in-one. No aces on any hole had been logged in the first five years of the Wachovia Championship, but Jay Williamson did it at No. 6.

"(The ball) hit the green and ran right into the hole. It will certainly be something I'll never forget on arguably the hardest par 3 we play," Williamson said. "This one, just to get on the green is an achievement."

With 245 yards to the pin and a slight wind to the left, he hit a "perfect" 17-degree rescue 2 for the 10th hole-in-one of his career.

"I think my 10th will be the one that I remember forever. Before, when I have made a few of them, you almost get embarrassed, but this time I was really excited," Williamson said.

Being the first in tournament history also struck a chord with Williamson, who has never won on the PGA TOUR but is five strokes out of the lead this week.

"I don't know how much golf I'll play for the rest of my life," he said, "but that will at least help me be remembered (since I was) the first (here)."