GOLF

Cheers for Cink at Hazeltine

08-13-2009 | AFP

Panama Star CHASKA, MINN. The cheers for Tiger and Phil are a given, and Padraig Harrington gets his share of love. Follow Sergio Garcia, Anthony Kim or Camilo Villegas around a golf course, and there'll be plenty of shoutouts for them, too.

Stewart Cink? Not so much.

"I'm usually the under-the-radar guy in the group," Cink said. "I never hear 'Go Stewart!' — unless someone chuckles after it.

"Nobody's laughing now.

Cink has become quite the popular guy since last month's win at the British Open, also known as “The Tournament Tom Watson Almost Won.” After being all but ignored in regulation at Turnberry, Cink got plenty of airtime last weekend at Bridgestone, where he finished in a tie for sixth.

And despite it only being Tuesday, he had a decent-sized gallery for his practice round at the PGA Championship. "The fan support has been probably the most surprising," Cink said. "There's a lot of comments from the crowd, a lot of support, a lot of congrats and it's just a really good feeling. It actually instills even more confidence."

The PGA begins Thursday at Hazeltine National. Cink was hardly one of those major winners who has fans scratching their heads and wondering where he came from (that would be you, Michael Campbell). He'd won five times on the PGA Tour, consistently finished in the top 25 and been part of the American Ryder Cup team that finally broke the European streak last year. He'd contended at a major before, too, missing out on the playoff with Retief Goosen and Mark Brooks at the 2001 U.S. Open because of a double bogey on the last hole.