‘My transformation is complete’

“It’s all paid off,you know,everything I’ve changed,” Cink said. “When you’re having a solid career,and you go and just make massive changes,it’s a leap of faith to some extent,and I trusted other people. I trusted myself that I would be able to transform myself into a new type of golfer. And that transformation,with this Claret Jug in my hand,it’s now complete.”

Cink has been good enough to make the last four Ryder Cup teams for the United States,good enough to get as high as No. 5 in the world rankings last year. But the majors had been for faltering: at the 2001 United States Open,he carelessly missed an 18-inch putt on the 72nd hole as he attempted to get done quickly so Retief Goosen could close out his victory.

But Turnberry plotlines turned out to be different,with a lot of help at the bitter end from Watson and from a tricky 15-foot putt that Cink made for birdie on the 18th. This time,Cink did not take anything on his 72nd hole for granted. This time,his putt ended up getting him into the play-off. Not that he was obsessing on that still-unconfirmed eventuality when he struck it.

“I’ve been working really hard the last two or three months on my putting,and my whole mental approach to golf,” he said. “I had a great solid routine there. I knew what I was looking at,and I hit that putt with really — really without a care in the world of whether it went in or whether it missed. But a blank mind like that is the best way to approach a pressure-packed situation,and I was proud of myself,the way I handled that.”

Cink makes it sound simple,but that has often not been the case. Though he was a star golfer at Georgia Tech and the rookie of the year on the PGA Tour in 1997,he had to shake free of the yips in the early 2000s as short putts were too often turning into existential questions. He battled the problem with the help of psychoanalysis and the tough love of his wife,Lisa. It improved,but not so much that he did not feel the need to shift to a belly putter.

He did not use it at Turnberry,however. In May,unhappy with his recent performances,he decided to “totally overhaul” his putting by going back to the short putter and developing a pre-shot routine that would help him keep his mind clear under duress.

“I thought if I stayed with the long putter that it would be too easy for me to fall back into the old warm and fuzzy feelings,” Cink said. “So I decided to scrap everything and start over.”

He was,needless to say,not the crowd favourite. “It’s not the first time I’ve been in that situation,” he said. “I’ve played plenty of times with Tiger,and hearing the Tiger roars,” he said. “I’m usually the guy that the crowd,they appreciate but they’re not behind me 100 percent of the way. So you know,that’s the sort of role I’ve been cast into for my whole career. And hey,that’s not the worst. It’s okay.”

Cink is accustomed to being a supporting actor. An early Twitter adopter,he has developed a remarkably large following. Earlier this year,he told Sports Illustrated,“It’s like the only legacy I have. One day,on my gravestone it’s going to say: ‘Stewart Cink,twitter pioneer of PGA tour. And also,player’.” Sunday’s result,however unpopular with sentimentalists worldwide,should change that.