Stewart Cink is moving on to the next phase of his golf career.
The 51-year-old told Golfweek that he will jump from the PGA Tour to the PGA Tour Champions in 2025.
“I love playing the PGA Tour,” Cink said, “but I've been doing it a long time and I'm such an outlier out there age-wise. It's just not as much fun. If every day was Thursday through Sunday, if it was just the competition, I'd still be doing it. But practice rounds, the range, locker room, dining, at some point, you got to be around your folks and my folks are on the Champions Tour. So I told my wife, ‘I think it's time to switch over.”
Cink, an eight-time Tour winner and the 2009 British Open champion, has made 15 Champions starts since turning 50 and notched his maiden victory at the Ally Challenge earlier this year. On the PGA Tour he made 16 starts in 2024, making half of his cuts with zero top-10 finishes.
So when did Cink decide to make the switch full-time?
After missing the cut at August's Wyndham Championship, he wrapped up his season ranked No. 173 in the FedExCup standings. Realizing it will be harder to keep up with the game's youth as time goes on, espeically with the number of full-time Tour cards shrinking in 2026, he told his wife it was time to make a change.
“I was like, you know what? I'm grinding my butt off, and I like the grind; It's like my favorite part of doing this. I like it,” he said. “But I'm grinding to earn myself the right to be back in this exact same position next year trying to make the top 125 except it is only going to be the top 100.”
His wife Lisa supported his decision.
“She's like, I do too,” Cink said. “Whenever we talked about the Champions Tour, she had always said, ‘you’re still PGA Tour material,’ but this time she's like, ‘I was thinking the same thing.’ She said, ‘I am so on board with you in that.’ So feels right.”
Now, Cink, ranked No. 330 in the world, is looking forward to the next chapter of his career—hoping to contend for senior majors and the season-long Charles Schwab Cup Championship.
“I have this window and I don't want to look back and say I didn't take advantage of it,” he said. “I’ve got a chance to maybe do something really good over there. So, I'm moving on. I'm ready. I feel great about it and I'm excited.”
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Stewart Cink Moving On From PGA Tour In 2025, Feels 'Great About It'.
