Less than a month ago, Stewart Cink had never won a PGA Tour Champions major.
Now he has won two.
Cink shot a 3-under-par 69 on Sunday at the Regions Tradition in Birmingham, Ala., taking home the title by three strokes over nearest competitor Scott Hend of Australia in breezy conditions.
“It wasn’t easy,” Cink said. “But I was pretty resilient and I trusted what I had and our game plan was good. You know, I wasn’t perfect by any stretch, but I played good golf under the circumstances.”
The Florence, Ala. native had his own cheering section at Greystone Golf and Country Club on Sunday, as Cink carded five birdies against two bogeys to earn his second straight major after winning the Senior PGA Championship in Bradenton, Fla. two weeks ago.
“This is where I cut my teeth in golf,” Cink said. “The fans out here were awesome, I saw a lot of familiar faces. Everybody’s put on the years, but some people from junior golf that I played with and against and their families. A lot of my friends and family have been out here all week anyway that I knew they were coming. It’s just been great.”
The eight-time PGA Champions tourney winner cited the importance of keeping his focus on the present for his recent hot streak, which has included four wins overall in 2026. He has yet to finish lower than sixth this calendar year.
“One of the things I’m doing a pretty good job of is just kind of staying in the moment,” he said. “It feels good to get back in the winner’s circle again, of course. I hope there’s a lot more times coming.”
Hend surged up the leaderboard to apply some pressure as most other golfers struggled to match Cink’s strong day. Hend did Cink four better with a 7-under 65, but he ultimately had too much ground to make up coming into the day. Still, a day with six birdies, a bogey and an eagle on the par-5 No. 13 left much to be proud of.
Scotland’s Colin Montgomerie shot a 1-under 71 which left him in third place at 13 under once the dust settled, while Denmark’s Soren Kjeldsen took fourth with a 3-under 69 that put him at 12 under.
Three golfers rounded out the top five in a tie for fifth: South Korea’s Charlie Wi (68), Germany’s Alex Cejka (70) and Doug Barron (71).
–Field Level Media
