Stewart Cink, Tom Watson & the 2009 Open Bounce | Simmons Bank Championship

This week in Little Rock, Stewart Cink tees off at the Simmons Bank Championship as No. 1 in the Charles Schwab Cup standings. Golf fans know him for one July day in 2009, when he won the Open at Turnberry in a playoff against Tom Watson, who was 59. Watson had hit his final approach exactly the way he wanted, and it still ran over the green. The beginner lesson: sometimes a good swing gets a bad bounce, and the next shot is all you control.

Simmons Bank Championship week: Cink arrives at the top

The Simmons Bank Championship is the second of three Charles Schwab Cup Playoffs events on PGA Tour Champions. The top 54 players on the points list play three rounds at Pleasant Valley Country Club in Little Rock, Friday, October 30, to Sunday, November 1. Cink is listed No. 1 on the points list in the official field.

Seventeen years ago, he was the man on the other side of one of golf's most-remembered finishes.

Even the greats: the shot that was almost perfect

Watson had won the Open five times, including at Turnberry in 1977. In 2009, nine months after hip-replacement surgery, he opened with a 65 and led for the next two days. He birdied the 71st hole to lead by one. One more par and he'd have a sixth Claret Jug.

He split the fairway on the 18th. Then he struck his approach sweetly, right at the flag. "It landed right where I wanted it to," he said later. The ground was firm and the wind was behind him, and the ball rolled through the green to the back fringe.

He chose to putt from there, and the ball ran about eight feet past. The par putt came up short.

The steady one: Cink's moment

Cink, then 36, had already done his part. He birdied the 72nd hole from 16 feet. "It will be the most crucial putt of my life," he said.

In the four-hole playoff he stayed steady, two under par, and won his first major. He was kind about who he'd beaten. "To play against Tom Watson in the playoff, it was mixed emotions," he said. "I have watched him with such admiration this week."

Watson didn't hide from it either. "I put myself in position to win and didn't do it on the last hole," he said. And: "The dream almost came true."

Your first-nine lesson: good swing, bad spot, calm next shot

You will hit a wedge that feels perfect and watch it bounce over the green. That isn't failure. It's golf.

Give yourself credit for the swing. If it felt good and went where you aimed, that's progress, wherever the ball stopped.
From the fringe, keep it simple. If the grass is short and smooth, a gentle putt is often the easiest play. Our chipping vs. pitching guide shows when to putt and when to use your 52° or 56°.
Aim for close, not perfect. A first putt that stops a short walk from the hole makes the next one easy.
Be like Cink, too. Steady golf wins more than it gets credit for. Middle of the green, two putts, next tee.
Enjoy the walk. Watson was 59 and still loving it. If you're returning after years away, our coming back to golf guide is for you.

Watching from Little Rock this weekend? When a pro's great shot takes a bad hop, notice what they do next. That's the part you can copy.

Stewart Cink, Tom Watson and the Bounce That Decided the 2009 Open

Simmons Bank Championship week: Cink arrives at the top

Even the greats: the shot that was almost perfect

The steady one: Cink's moment

Your first-nine lesson: good swing, bad spot, calm next shot

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