Celebrating the best way he knows how ... on Twitter

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Stewart Cink celebrated his British Open win with his family and caddie. After that, he celebrated with his Twitter followers.

"Not sure what to say yet but this picture should do the trick."

With that, more than a half-million followers on Twitter got a look at the first candid moment from Stewart Cink. Post-first major. Post-media blitz. Post-midnight, too. About 15 minutes after it, Turnberry time.

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Cink kissing the Claret Jug once again. This time for all those folks who tune in daily to see what small slice of life Cink will share with a thought or maybe a picture. Of his dogs. Of him jumping off his boat. Of teaching his son to drive in the parking lot near Doonbeg. Of a full pint of Guinness in an Irish pub.

Those same people rocked Cink's Twitter feed on Sunday afternoon. They started the day wondering whether they believed in the magic of 59-year-old Tom Watson and ended tweeting responses about the first major champion from Twitter.

Great fun just throwing out your thoughts as you watch everything unfold.

Greater fun to read Cink's post-championship, non-press conference thoughts.

A short nap after that first tweet, Cink was at it again. A picture of the jet he chartered to take the Jug to Manchester -- and oh, there was room for the family, too. Another of the carrying case in the overhead bin. And one more -- filling the Claret Jug with Guinness.

From Stewart Cink's Twitter feed

Any guesses as to which beverage will be first to be consumed from the Jug? There really was no question.

Any guesses as to what we'll see from behind the scenes at David Letterman on Tuesday?

No clue. But we do know, it'll make us chuckle.

Cink has these tweets down. He takes the mundane -- and sometimes frustrating -- and turns it into lighthearted glimpses into his life. They're unguarded looks at his wife driving the boat or coffee cups from his lake house -- Cink's Happy Place -- or just random thoughts.

They're all so Stewart -- funny, a bit quirky and always spot-on honest. He's a guy who hasn't changed since he was Tiger Woods before Tiger Woods. Yes, he was the guy coming out of Georgia Tech -- big man with a big future. Nice guy who took the time even when he didn't have it.

Solid player who became a Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup rock. Guy who might have gotten this major thing out of the way in 2001 if only he hadn't rushed that final putt at Southern Hills.

Cink lives life double-time. Practice, check. Family, check. Bible study, check. Sports -- especially Braves and Thrashers -- check. Media, check. Twitter -- hey, he texts all day. What are a few more characters and a click of the iPhone anyway?

This latest trip started with a vacation at the lake house and on to Dulles airport, where he shared pictures of the people movers. Then ... well, it seems Stewart and Lisa didn't check the boys' passports, which had expired. Oops. So, he took us to the passport office where Lisa's twitpic showed Mom and Dad in the background.

Then it was on to Ireland, which brings us to another thing about Cink. He didn't head to Turnberry for a zillion practice rounds. He played his way there -- Doonbeg, Ballybunion, Lahinch -- with sons Connor and Reagan and gave driving lessons in a parking lot. He took us to the cliffs at Kilkee and the Cliffs of Moher. And to the streets of a typical Irish town -- Milltown-Malbay.

He relaxed. He chilled. And when he got to Turnberry, he found that calm. A comfort zone that led to the week of his life.

"Somebody at a major championship always has that calm peace about them,'' he said Sunday night, "and I had it today.''

Truth told, that peace has been there for a while now. Yes, he gets frustrated. And a bit down. But he never loses site that this life is a journey and he has always accepted that wherever he is, is where he's supposed to be.

And right now? That's savoring joining the club -- the major club.

From Stewart Cink's Twitter feed

Glancing at the #stewartcinks -- mentions of him on Twitter -- over the week show just how many people love what he has to say. He started with a random thought -- taking the kids to hockey practice ... again.

Suddenly 22 followers blossomed into 300. Then 3,000. When he taught me the ins and outs -- and @s and RTs -- of Twitter back in May, he crested the 150,000-mark as we were talking. Now? He was at 577,000-plus a few minutes ago.

Cink was up early Tuesday morning reading e-mails and apologizing that he was just getting back to me. But lord, you can only imagine how many e-mails are still sitting in his inbox right now.

Some of his favorite Twitter messages, he told me, came from the Braves and Thrashers organizations -- through their front offices. Two of his favorite recording artists -- Mat Kearney and Toby Mac -- sent congrats, too, as did Andy Roddick. And, of course, buddies like Davis Love III and J.J. Henry.

He hasn't had a chance yet to get to all his messages, but the Twitter followers have been very talkative -- especially responding to the pictures of Guinness being poured in the Claret Jug.

And in the time it took to type the last two paragraphs? He's added another 100 followers. And a few more tweets.

Having trouble deciding which cup to pour my OJ in this morning.

What's next? We can't wait.

But until then, here's a tweet from me::

just cinkin' ... this was long overdue....this will change his life, but it won't change @stewartcink one bit.

Melanie Hauser is a freelance columnist for PGATOUR.COM. Her views do not necessarily represent the views of the PGA TOUR.