Stewart Cink has suggested how The Open Championship rota would look if he was in charge of picking the courses each year.
Of course, Stewart Cink won one of the most notable Open Championships this century with his victory at Turnberry in 2009.
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Cink himself admitted he was probably deeply unpopular with the crowds that week after denying Tom Watson a fairytale win at the age of 59. Watson made a bogey on the 72nd hole to end up in a playoff with his countryman.
Ultimately, Cink won comfortably over the four additional holes. It proved to be the only major championship of his professional career.
Stewart Cink asked what venues he would have on The Open Championship rota
Despite lifting the Claret Jug at Turnberry, it is another course that Cink puts above any other when it comes to The Open Championship.
In an interview with Fried Egg Golf, the 52-year-old was asked what venues he would have making up the rota.
“It would be St Andrews, and that’s all. I have this love affair with St Andrews. I love The Old Course so much, I just can’t get enough Old Course, and I just think it’s so much fun to play. It’s a wonder being there. Not knowing how old it is, and then the way it can be set up for public play and for a major,” he said.
“Yeah, if the wind’s not blowing that hard, the players tear it apart, of course, but I don’t care. The shots you hit there, and the way that course presents itself, it’s just remarkable how great it is and how cool some of those shots are. I would have just the one course rotation there, it would be like The Players Championship of the major rota, just one course.”
Cink names his favourite part of St Andrews
Interestingly, Cink’s record at The Old Course in The Open Championship is far from impressive.
He missed the cut in 2005 and 2022. Meanwhile, his best finish in the event at The Home of Golf was tied for 20th.
So perhaps it says a lot that Cink would still put St Andrews at the very top of the list, particularly as he won The Open elsewhere.
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He was subsequently asked about his favourite part of the golf course.
“I kind of like the huge mound in front of four. It looks like a Hershey’s Kiss that someone put in a growth ray or something and it grew up about 500 times. And it’s just sitting there for no reason except to screw with your brain,” he said.
“It’s exactly where you want to land the ball for almost every hole. It’s so obvious a couple of dudes went out there with a shovel and just built it, and it’s been there forever. And no one says a word about it, but it’s exactly where you want to land your ball and you’ve got to put some kind of curve on it and land it right or left of that thing. It’s always in your mind and it’s right there on the front of the yardage book. It’s probably the first time that anyone’s ever singled out that feature as their most notable feature on the golf course.”
The Open Championship will return to St Andrews in 2027.
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