Best seats in the house ... right next to Open champ

text size

Sometimes, nice guys do finish first.

While most people who know Stewart Cink find it tough to dispute that statement after his British Open triumph, one Atlanta family found out first-hand Monday about the true kindness and sincerity of the man.

Cink had just stepped off a plane from Scotland that evening toting the Claret Jug when he, along with family and friends, headed over to Houston's Restaurant for a celebration dinner.

Dennis/Getty Images

Stewart Cink isn't about to let the Claret Jug out of his grasp.

Related

Cink turns around 2009 season
Complete British Open coverage

Atlanta residents Rudy and Elaine Yarbrough, on their way to a movie with daughter Lily and son Evan, also were at Houston's, waiting for a table when Cink's victory party of about 20-25 people arrived.

As it turned out, the Yarbroughs not only got seats, but ones right next to the guest of honor.

"The funny thing is that my husband never accepts the first table," Elaine Yarbrough noted. "After he turned down the first one offered to him, we were brought to another area and asked if it was OK because there would be a private party nearby. We said that was fine."

Cink, who lives in the Atlanta area and was an All-American at Georgia Tech, was joined at the restaurant by wife Lisa, sons Connor and Reagan, and a number of friends and family members.

A member of the group apologized immediately to the Yarbroughs and warned it might be "noisy" and that Cink would like to pay for the entire family's meal. Rudy Yarbrough appreciated the offer but said it wasn't necessary.

Cink, however, insisted.

"He was truly concerned about our enjoyment," Elaine Yarbrough said. "He went out of his way to make sure we were having a good time despite the distractions."

An appreciative Yarbrough promptly sent over a bottle of champagne to the Cink table, which would eventually find its way into the Claret Jug as Cink received toasts during the evening.

Elaine and Rudy, a retired Delta pilot, both had extensive careers working in the airline industry with many opportunities to meet celebrities. After her experience at Houston's, Elaine was impressed with golf's latest champion.

"I've never met anyone as classy as Stewart Cink," she said.

After the party was underway, Cink eventually joined the Yarbroughs and posed for a couple of pictures and shared a few moments, including one that daughter Lily, 23, will never forget.

"I told him I just started golf lessons," said Lily, now a St. Augustine, Fla., resident and graduate of Flagler College in 2008. "He joked, 'Are you taking them or teaching them?' Then he encouraged me to keep up the lessons, as I took a picture with him holding the Claret Jug. It was a night I'll never forget."

The evening ended with the Yarbroughs eventually seeing the movie, "The Hurt Locker." Years from now, they probably won't be able to recall what they saw.

But no doubt they'll remember the night they received an unexpected invitation to the celebration party of a British Open champion.