Cink sets early pace at Tour Championship

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Cink sets early pace at Tour Championship



2 hours, 46 minutes ago

By Mark Lamport-Stokes


ATLANTA (Reuters) - British Open champion Stewart Cink took advantage of a fast start at East Lake Golf Club to set the early pace in Thursday's opening round of the Tour Championship.

The Atlanta resident birdied four of the first nine holes on his way to a three-under-par 67 in the final event of the PGA Tour's lucrative playoff series.

U.S. Open champion Lucas Glover fired a five-birdie 68 while fellow American Steve Marino opened with a 69.

World number one Tiger Woods, among the late starters in the elite field of 30, was two-under with five holes remaining.

Although Cink dropped two shots on the back nine, he was delighted with his display on slick greens running fast and firm in bright sunshine.

"It was a pretty good start," the 36-year-old American told reporters after a round featuring five birdies and two bogeys.

"I played well, especially (on) the front nine. (On) the back nine, I just slowed down a little bit. I didn't have that many good looks at it.

DRYING OUT

"Considering all that rain we had, it's really dried out and the greens are like bricks," Cink said, referring to the 11 inches of rain deposited on the par-70 layout during the week before the tournament.

"You have to be very smart coming into the greens here to give yourself any kind of aggressive birdies."

Cink has an outside chance of clinching the FedExCup, along with the $10 million bonus, but he was reluctant to lose focus on the tournament itself.

"The number one thing is Stewart Cink needs to win the Tour Championship," he said. "That needs to happen first. If that happens, then we'll look and see if all the dominoes line up."

For Cink to land the FedExCup, he needs to clinch the Tour Championship with points leader Woods finishing no higher than 22nd -- among various other scenarios.

"I won't be shunning the scoreboards but I'm not checking them to see where I finish," added Cink, who lies 26th in the FedExCup points standings.

"I want to win here. I'm not concerned at 26 if I'm going to win the FedExCup. I just want to have a great finish right here."

(Editing by Sonia Oxley)