Team Cink was in-sync on opening day Saturday at the PNC Championship.
Stewart and Reagan Cink started slow but put on a seven-birdie run starting at the ninth hole on their way to a 13-under par 59 in this two-player scramble event at the Ritz Carlton Golf Club.
There are two solid teams a shot behind including defending champions Justin and Mike Thomas. It was J.T. carrying the load as his father fought through back problems and limped around, watching his son do the heavy lifting. They played good enough to shoot 12-under and that tied them with the Dalys — John and John II.
Team Singh — Vijay and Qass — who finished runnerup to Team Thomas last year, put themselves in contention with an 11-under par effort.
Then came a half-dozen teams at 10-under, including the most-watched team of the event — Tiger and Charlie Woods. “I’m not in golf shape,” Tiger declared after finishing 18 holes. There were brilliant flashes from the 15-time major champion — including a couple of drives that went past the 300-yard mark and driver ball speed in the 170s. It was remarkable considering where Woods has come from since his single-car accident last February.
Son Charlie showed off an incredibly sound golf swing and the team played most of Charlie’s tee shots. Tiger’s best shot of the day may have been his second into the par five third when he launched a sweet four-iron from 200 yards that settled just outside 10 feet from the hole. “But we didn’t take advantage of it,” Woods said as both he and Charlie missed the eagle attempt.
Here’s how the teams are lined up behind the leaders:
Others At 10-Under Par:
Henrik and Karl Stenson: Eleven-year-old Karl showed off a really sound game. The team missed a golden opportunity to get to 11-under when both missed an eagle attempt at the 18th from inside 10 feet following a brilliant second shot by Henrik.
Gary and Jordan Player: At age 86, Player continues to be amazing and this is perhaps the surprise team of the first round.
Matt and Cameron Kuchar: Team Kooch performed well. Cameron went from caddie in the QBE Shootout to player this week and showed off a pretty solid game.
Tom and Sean Lehman: Tom’s still got it and Sean gave enough support to get the team into that tie for fifth.
Sir Nick and Matthew Faldo: Hard to believe Matthew is 32 now and he showed enough skill to put him and the star of the CBS golf broadcast team into contention.
Best comeback of the day went to Nick and Greg Price. After falling way behind with an even par 36 on the front nine — Team Price made seven straight pars to start their final nine. They finished seven-under.
Petr Korda didn’t have enough game to support his daughter Nelly, the No. 1 women’s player in the world. Team Korda finished at nine-under, mostly thanks to Nelly.
