FedexCup Final 30 preview: No. 26 Stewart Cink

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Sep. 17, 2009

The top 30 players in FedExCup points have advanced to THE TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola and now have a chance to win the FedExCup. Here's a detailed look at each player and how he made it to East Lake:
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Season in review

Stewart Cink: 26th in FedExCup points (250 points after reset)
Cink made a 12-foot birdie putt on the final hole of regulation at the British Open and then took advantage of Tom Watson's missed 8-foot par putt by overwhelming him in the four-hole playoff to win the British Open. Cink made two birdies and two pars in the playoff to capture his first major and sixth career victory. In addition to his British Open triumph, Cink finished third at the World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship and has a total of four top-10 finishes on the season. He is making his seventh career start at THE TOUR Championship, where his best finish is a tie for 11th in 2007. He finished 22nd and 20th in the 2007 and 2008 FedExCup, respectively, and is one of six players who has advanced to THE TOUR Championship in each of the three seasons of the FedExCup. Cink will compete for the U.S. Team at The Presidents Cup next month, his fourth appearance in the event.

Quick analysis

Cink played golf at Georgia Tech, lives in Atlanta and considers East Lake his home course. So you can imagine the sense of urgency when the reigning British Open champ went into the final round of the final Playoff event outside the all-important top 30. Cink got the job done, though, thanks in part to an eagle-birdie-birdie-birdie stretch at Cog Hill on Sunday. Now he wants to contend at East Lake, where he's oddly never had a top-10. -- Helen Ross

How Cink got here

Breaking down the FedExCup points won and rank after each start in 2009

Rank	Change in rank	Tournament	Finish	Points earned	Points for year	Points behind
26	-1	BMW Championship	T23	227.5	1,663	5,533
25	-6	Deutsche Bank Championship	CUT	0	1,435	4,170
19	-4	The Barclays	T28	210	1,435	2,946
15	-1	PGA Championship	T67	1.99	1,225	2,206
14	-1	World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational	T6	96.333	1,223	1,878
13	+36	British Open Championship	1	600	1,127	932
49	-2	Travelers Championship	CUT	0	527	1,347
47	+3	U.S. Open Championship	T27	41.5	527	1,089
50	+11	the Memorial Tournament	T8	82.5	485	1,124
61	-1	Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial	T22	47	403	1,195
60	-6	THE PLAYERS Championship	T76	.870	356	1,075
54	-10	Quail Hollow Championship	CUT	0	355	1,032
44	-3	Verizon Heritage	T62	8	355	995
41	-9	Masters Tournament	CUT	0	347	1,003
32	-2	Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by MasterCard	T30	38.5	347	857
30	-4	World Golf Championships-CA Championship	T59	11.5	309	895
26	+1	The Honda Classic	T52	15	297	879
27	+22	World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship	3	200	282	894
49	-27	FBR Open	CUT	0	82	565
22	+2	Sony Open in Hawaii	T32	36	82	507
24	0	Mercedes-Benz Championship	T24	46	46	454

Previous Playoffs results

Year	Barclay's	Deutsche Bank	BMW Champ.	Tour Champ.	Final FEC Position
2008	T38	T33	T60	T24	20th
2007	T25	CUT	T7	T11	22nd

Previous results at THE TOUR Championship

Year	Finish	Rd. 1	Rd. 2	Rd. 3	Rd. 4	Total	To par	Money won
2008	T24	75	73	73	69	290	10	120,400
2007	T11	67	66	71	69	273	-7	167,300
2006	25	69	75	75	73	292	12	111,800
2004	T21	70	73	71	71	285	5	105,600
2001	T13	70	70	67	69	276	-8	119,000
2000	T18	73	68	72	68	281	1	98,000
1997	24	73	72	71	71	287	3	70,400