Cink Rises to Top at Heritage

Stewart Cink, the 2000 champion, moved to 10-under-par with a 65 Friday in the second round of the MCI Heritage at Hilton Head Island, S.C.

His two-round total of 132 put him a stroke ahead of Hal Sutton (66) and two in front of Chad Campbell (67) and 1997 winner Nick Price (66) at Harbour Town Golf Links. Four-time Heritage champ Davis Love III (69) and Ernie Els (66) are in a group three shots behind.

Cink, 29, says that for two dismal seasons he was held back by fears that left him scared to play a game that had come so naturally.

“I would come to golf tournaments and I would actually dread Thursdays,” Cink said. “Now, it’s just a night-and-day difference.”

Three years ago, Cink was among the game’s rising stars when he made the MCI Heritage his second -- and most recent -- PGA Tour victory. But as the 1997 PGA Tour Rookie of the Year moved up in stature, he built an image of golf perfection he says he could not live up to.

“I was struggling with being in front of everybody and making mistakes and just feeling like a vulnerable, weak player,” Cink said.

Cink’s worries were realized in 2001 when he failed at the U.S. Open, missing an 18-inch putt to join a playoff eventually won by Retief Goosen.

“Screwing up there in the middle of all the limelight, that was more a result of the fears I was having then,” he said.

Cink fell from 10th on the money list in 2000 to 73rd last year. But he’s bouncing back.

Cink tied for second two weeks ago at the BellSouth Classic, his third top-10 finish of the season. He’s 31st on the money list and played the kind of opportunistic golf necessary at Harbour Town.

Cink made three straight birdies to move in front. Then, after temporarily falling behind Sutton with a bogey on the par-three 14th, he closed with birdies on the difficult 17th and 18th holes to retake the lead.

Els, ranked No. 2 in the world, had the day’s most entertaining shot. His drive on No. 9 found an empty lawn chair on the right side. After a drop, he chipped to about a foot away and made birdie.

First-round leader Craig Barlow could not maintain the level of play that set a nine-hole tournament record of 28. He fell to one-under after a five-over 76, including a 39 on the front side, where he set the mark Thursday.

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Leonard Thompson and Gil Morgan each shot seven-under-par 63 to share the lead in the Emerald Coast Classic at Milton, Fla., as the field turned in the lowest scoring average for a first round in Champions Tour history.

The leaders are a stroke ahead of Tom Watson and Bruce Fleisher, who shot 64. Vicente Fernandez and Jim Holtgrieve are two strokes back. Seven golfers shot 66.

The field of 81 shot a 69 average to break the previous opening-round low of 69.39 at last year’s RJR Championship outside Winston-Salem, N.C., on what then was known as the Seniors Tour.

A nice day with little or no wind contributed to the record scoring on the 6,832-yard, par-70 course at The Moors Golf Club.

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Candie Kung had the lead, a closing birdie hole in front of her and some momentum when a rare desert thunderstorm forced players off the course in the LPGA’s Takefuji Classic at Las Vegas.

She returned to shank one wedge and hit another one thin before finally salvaging a final bogey that dropped her into a tie with Catriona Matthew through two rounds of the 54-hole event.

It was the second day in a row Kung had trouble finishing. In Thursday’s first round, she double bogeyed her final hole to drop out of the lead.

Kung and Matthew were at 10-under, a shot ahead of Christie Kerr.

Annika Sorenstam was five shots back after a five-under 67.

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Greg Owen of England took a three-shot lead midway through the Algarve Open with a two-under-par 70 at Faro, Portugal.