Stewart Cink’s walk-off double eagle has him sleeping on lead at Hoag Classic
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Those stationed at the 18th green received quite a treat on Saturday, the rarest of golf feats happening right before their eyes in the most consequential way in the Hoag Classic at Newport Beach Country Club.
Stewart Cink stepped over his second shot from the fairway and launched the ball into the forget-me-not sky. It landed on the edge of the green, took four hops, and rolled until it dropped into the hole from 205 yards out, a walk-off double eagle that sent the crowd into a frenzy.
“It was a heck of a walk-off,” said Cink, the 52-year-old who won the British Open in 2009 for his only major title. “I hit a great drive. A hole like that, for this course, is a pretty wide fairway, and you just really want to eat up as much yardage as you can off the tee. That was as good as I can hit one. I left myself only a 6-iron to the green.
“To be honest, I wasn’t aiming over there towards the flag. I just hit a little bit of a push, but I hit it really solid. I knew when it took off it was going to be the right distance. You know, is it going to go in the hole? I mean, you never know that. It’s luck from that point, but when the crowd reacted, it was pretty awesome.”
In one instant, from the fairway to the clubhouse, Cink cemented his position — from a share of the lead to the overnight leader at 14 under par. His last-hole miracle adequately erased any lingering doubts from a three-putt bogey on No. 16.
Cink had switched balls at that point, giving the ball to a member of the gallery. He allowed himself to enjoy the moment with no shots left to play, flexing in celebration and waving his hat to the spectators as he walked onto the green.
“We try not to let the results matter, but when you get a result like that, especially at the end of the day, I don’t have to hit another shot,” Cink said. “I can’t mess up the next hole … It’s kind of fun to laugh a little bit and interact with the crowd. … That was a cool moment to have happen, you know, right there on the 18th hole with the crowd.
“This is a great crowd here. Hoag always gets such awesome support from this local area, and it’s so good, so felt really good to do that there.”
The last double eagle to be carded in Orange County’s PGA Tour Champions event occurred in 2016, when Ian Woosnam holed out from 215 yards on the 490-yard, par-five 15th hole.
Freddie Jacobson, of Sweden, and Steven Alker, of New Zealand, lead the chase pack, both sitting two strokes back at 12 under par.
“Kind of had to work my way into the round a little bit,” said Jacobson, who finished with six birdies against one bogey on Saturday. “Kind of got it going towards the end of the front nine a bit and played pretty steady on the back nine. Balls just didn’t quite drop on the back. Felt like I was hitting good putts. Happy about the day.”
Alker last week won the Cologuard Classic at La Paloma Country Club in Tucson, Ariz. for the second year in a row.
Two-time Hoag Classic champion Ernie Els, of South Africa, and Tim Petrovic round out the top five at 11 under par.
Cink’s second round of nine under par matched Paul Goydos’ first round on Friday for the best round of the tournament thus far. Defending champion Miguel Angel Jiménez made a charge on moving day, delivering a seven-under-par round of 64 to get to eight under and six shots off the lead.
Play resumes at 9:25 a.m. Sunday for the final round, including local favorite Fred Couples (-4), who will be teeing off at the first hole at that time.
