Mitsubishi host Stewart Cink wants to add Ryder Cup captaincy to résumé
Stewart Cink isn’t running for public office, although he’s perhaps shaken more hands and posed for more selfies this week than any candidate from either side of the aisle.
This is the week that Cink serves as host for the annual Mitsubishi Electric Classic at TPC Sugarloaf in Duluth. He knows there will be many more requests for photos and a lot more flesh to press before his head hits the pillow Sunday.
“I’m used to it,” he said. “Nothing really has changed in golf for me. I’ve still got sponsor obligations, which I’m more than happy to do. It’s part of the job that I love doing, representing some great companies around Atlanta and around the world.”
Cink began the hectic week Monday with pro-ams and receptions and will follow a relentless schedule that he hopes will culminate Sunday afternoon with him holding a trophy and a supersized check on the 18th green.
That wouldn’t be surprising. Cink has dominated PGA Tour Champions for the last 18 months. He won three times in 2025, including the Charles Schwab Cup, and was voted Player of the Year.
This season, he’s already won three times and hasn’t finished worse than a tie for sixth in five previous starts. Last week, he won the Senior PGA Championship, the first major of the season for the 50-plus set, by a record six shots.
Cink somehow manages to juggle everything on and off the course with a grin and a gracious attitude.
For example, Cink was left without a caddie Tuesday for the Fellowship of Christian Athletes’ GAMEDAY experience. Rather than ranting, he happily accepted a ride from Isabelle Nissen, the tournament’s marketing and events manager.
“He is so nice,” Nissen said. “I’ve never seen him without a smile on his face.”
Cink will be paired in the first round Friday with defending Mitsubishi Electric Classic champion Jerry Kelly and 2014 champion Miguel Ángel Jiménez. Cink tied for sixth at the 2025 Mitsubishi.
Cink is also among a handful of players who are under consideration to be named captain of the 2027 Ryder Cup team, a position that came open when Tiger Woods withdrew from consideration last year, even before his accident in March.
Cink definitely has the chops for the job. He won eight times on the PGA Tour, including the 2009 British Open. He played on five Ryder Cup teams and has been vocal about wanting the job. Others reportedly under consideration by the PGA of America include Keegan Bradley (who captained the losing team in 2025), Jim Furyk, Brandt Snedeker and Webb Simpson.
Cink has support from his brethren on PGA Tour Champions.
“I would love for him to be captain,” Ben Crane said. “It would be super fun to have him be the captain. I respect him as a person, as a dad, as a husband. He’s a man I want to be like — and he’s only a couple years older than me.”
Zach Johnson, who was captain of the losing team in 2023, included Cink as part of his staff as a vice captain. He could get behind a Cink captaincy.
“He’s a great friend, and if you’re talking about an individual that has a passion for the game, certainly a passion for that tournament, the Cup, he’s right there at the top of the list,” Johnson said. “If you’re talking about the ability and the wisdom to pursue that venture, there’s no question.”
Field updates: Brandt Jobe, a two-time winner on the PGA Tour Champions, shot 5-under 67 to win the Monday qualifier at White Columns Country Club in Milton. Canadian David Morland and South African Darren Fichardt, a five-time winner on the European Tour, earned the other two spots.
Steve Allan withdrew Tuesday, which enabled Augusta’s Scott Parel to get into the field.
About the Author
Stan Awtrey has been covering sports for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution since 1977. He currently writes about high school sports, Georgia State University athletics and golf.
