Cink happy to be in Hawaii, but will his luck there change?

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Stewart Cink will begin his season in Maui thanks to his win at the 2009 British Open.

Stewart Cink is an intelligent guy, probably one of the smartest competitors on the PGA TOUR. After all, they don't just give away those degrees at Georgia Tech.

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Preview: Kapalua
In the bag: Stewart Cink

But you don't need to be able to build a nuclear reactor or help put a man into space -- and they do both at Georgia Tech -- to understand the significance of beginning the TOUR season Thursday on Maui at the SBS Championship.

"It's a great way to start the year," Cink said. "It's different from any other course we play, but it's a fun place to play. I love to play there."

Let's see, temperatures are expected to be in the 80s this week at the Kapalua Resort. The humidity should be negligible and the breezes will gently rustle the flowers of any lei. Meanwhile, folks on the mainland, including at Cink's home in the Atlanta area, are girding themselves for another round of frigid weather. (By the way, isn't an Artic Blast one of those Icees available at the 7-Eleven?) But these brave men of the PGA TOUR are sacrificing themselves, risking high levels of UV rays and waves of fun, to spend a week in Hawaii.

But there's more to it than just a potential sunburn risk for Cink and the other 27 players playing in the SBS Championship. Admission to the tournament is limited; you have to be the winner of a PGA TOUR event the previous year in order to qualify. Only three eligible players deigned to stay away: Henrik Stenson, Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods. For the other invitees, including Cink, there's little better than a winter vacation in Hawaii at an event with no cut that guarantees a headstart on the FedEx Cup points list.

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Cink, who was in Naples, Fla., last week watching his sons compete in a hockey tournament, couldn't wait for the season to start. He'll play this week and make it a tropical two-fer by competing in Honolulu in next week's Sony Open in Hawaii.

"You get to start the year playing on a good course against a small field of players," Cink said. "You get a good sense of accomplishment because you have to win to get there."

This is the fifth time that Cink has qualified for the winner's-only event, the first in back-to-back seasons, but this trip definitely has more significance. He'll be announced on the first tee as the 2009 Champion Golfer of the Year, a moniker worn proudly by the winner of the Open Championship. Cink finally added that major championship to his resume last summer at Turnberry and never gets tired of hearing it mentioned.

"After a few months it's like I've been able to reap all the positives and none of the negatives," Cink said. "My life hasn't changed too much at all. I'm starting my 14th year on TOUR, so it's not like I just burst onto the scene."

Cink admitted that he gets recognized more often in public places since winning the Open. He said he doesn't mind even when a fan ribs him about what he did to Tom Watson in Scotland last summer. The additional notoriety hasn't changed his well-grounded life.

Cink is considered to be among the players capable of filling the void left by the self-imposed absence of Tiger Woods. He's currently No. 16 in the Official World Golf Ranking after not being higher than 27th in the previous five years. He's become a fixture as a representative of the United States in international team competition, either at the Presidents Cup or Ryder Cup. He's emerged as of the most consistent players on the PGA TOUR and his confidence has never been higher.

Now, if he can just change his luck on the islands. While Cink does have a trio of top-12 finishes at Kapalua (fifth in 2005, 12th in 2001 and sixth in 1998), he tied for 24th at last year. He's had less fortune at the Sony Open, where he also tied for fifth in 2005 but has missed the cut four times.

"I've never really come close to winning, but I've been in the mix a few times," Cink said. "It's a great place to be."

And a win would make it even better.

Stan Awtrey is a freelance columnist for PGATOUR.COM. His views do not necessarily reflect the views of the PGA TOUR.