In a way, I feel sorry for Stewart Cink. It’s entirely likely that he’ll never get proper credit for winning The Open Championship at Turnberry. No, he’ll always be just the guy who was waiting when Old Tom Watson finally ran out of youth serum. And that’s a shame.

We should remember that Cink birdied the the tough 18th hole on the final day of a very tough four day examination to post a good score for every player to try to better, but we won’t. Instead, we’ll curse the hard bounce that Tom Watson got on a beautifully struck 8 iron into the final hole that dribbled over the back of the green. We’ll recall Watson’s tough decision to putt that ball instead of chipping from the iffy lie. And we’ll remember the awful putting stroke of a fading former champion that missed a relatively simple putt by several inches to the right of the hole.

I’ve never felt so gutted by a loss in which I had no stake. In fact, I had a few wagers on others and would’ve been willing to sacrifice them all for this dream to come true. I should know better at my age but, alas, there is no Brigadoon.

So here’s to Stewart Cink, an excellent golfer and great guy, and Champion Golfer of the Year.

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