Opinion & Analysis
Ways to Win: Risk management – Cink uses experience to beat the young guns
In “Ways to Win,” we track the PGA Tour winner’s rounds using the V1 Game mobile app and then analyze how they got the job done using the same tools available to V1 Game users.
Following up his earlier victory this season at the Safeway Open, Stewart Cink did it again and ran away with the RBC Heritage this past weekend. This time, he essentially won the tournament by blitzing the field on Thursday and Friday with a pair of 63s to set the 36-hole scoring mark for the tournament. Cink made it look easy those first two days with his well rounded game, allowing him to coast down the finish. He was never truly challenged on Sunday and cruised to a four-stroke victory and his second of the season as a 47-year-old.
Using the Strokes Gained analysis from V1 Game, it is clear that Cink did the separating with all areas of his game on the first two days.

Cink was hitting it close and making putts, a time-honored recipe for success. Interestingly enough, his putting started to wane over the weekend despite his irons staying relatively hot on Saturday. He actually lost over a stroke to the field on each weekend day with his putter. Still, by that point, Cink just needed to avoid mistakes and force someone to make a big run to catch him. That big run never came and the leader did an excellent job of avoiding mistakes over the course of four rounds. Part of minimizing mistakes is a newly-implemented risk system created by Cink and his son, now caddie. Cink simply takes environmental and course condition factors into play and grades the shot as red, yellow, or green. This helps him pick conservative targets that he can be aggressive to and prevents costly errors.

In fact, using V1 Game’s Virtual Coach, Cink had zero three-putts, zero two-chips, and only a single penalty on the week. He played nearly to his potential and maximized his return on the excellent ball striking.
If there was anything to improve on for Cink, V1 Game tells us it would be driving, followed by putting. However, that would just further elevate him above the field. He led the week in Strokes Gained Tee2Green and in Greens in Regulation (GIR).
Not only was Cink hitting greens (almost 80 percent of them), he was also hitting iron and wedge shots close. Using the V1 Game proximity view, Cink averaged six feet for shots inside 75 yards and just 24 feet for shots from 175-200 yards. Talk about stuffing it! This takes a tremendous amount of pressure off of his putter where he was not challenged to lag from great distances.

The histogram view from V1 Game shows Cink gained significant strokes on the field from each yardage bucket under 200 yards. While he lost strokes off the tee and with mid-range putts, Stewart was solid throughout the bag with no real weakness. When he did miss the rare green, his short game was up to the task and made it easy for him to scramble for those crucial par saves.

Most 47-year-old PGA Tour players have more of an eye towards the PGA Tour Champions, which becomes available at 50 years of age, however Cink has found a way to compete with the young guns. Consistent golf and solid ball striking is always rewarded. His golf was impressive and the change to his son as caddie seems to be paying dividends. If you need your own caddie that can help you choose the right targets and pull the right club, download the free V1 Game app today and take advantage of the Virtual Caddie. Virtual Caddie learns from your golf and helps give specific advice tuned to your game, much like a seasoned caddie on the PGA Tour. Whether you are learning the game or a seasoned veteran like Stewart Cink, V1 Game can help you play your best golf at any age.
Opinion & Analysis
AVL: My U.S. Amateur local qualifying experience
This past Monday, I played in the U.S. Amateur local qualifier at Rock Creek Country Club in Portland, Oregon. A full tee sheet from 7:30 a.m. to 1:55 p.m., the top 11 scores would make it to the U.S. Amateur final qualifying.
I teed off at 10:48 a.m.. With the 7:30 am tee time, you can get a feel for the leaders’ pace, and they were off and running on the challenging setup at Rock Creek.
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Getting to the highlight of the round on the par five 17th, a drive up the left side and 212 yards left to the front hole location. I took out a 5-iron with plans of middle of the green. The ball ended up 8 feet left of the hole, pin high. A slight downhill putt dropped in for an eagle 3 on the 17th. With the cut line looking to be anywhere from -2 to even par. This was the boost I had been waiting for all day.
With making par from the trees on 18, it was time to wait for a potential playoff with a posted score of one under par 71.
Three hours later, it was playoff time. 8 players for 6 spots. I made par on the playoff hole, which was good enough to advance to the U.S. Amateur final qualifying in July. USGA qualifiers sure deliver on all of the emotions in golf!
Club Junkie
Building my 2026 gamer WITB: Ranking the contenders and new putter projects – Club Junkie Podcast
The annual What’s In The Bag build is underway, and on this episode of Club Junkie, Brian breaks down the clubs currently leading the race for a spot in his 2026 gamer setup. From drivers and fairway woods to irons, wedges, and shafts, he ranks the equipment that’s performing best and explains what’s separating the front runners from the rest of the field.
Brian also heads into the workshop to discuss several putter projects currently on the bench. From head options and shaft choices to build ideas and testing plans, he shares what he’s working on and which putters could become serious contenders for the bag this season.
If you’re a gear junkie who loves equipment testing, club building, and the never-ending pursuit of the perfect setup, this episode is for you.
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Club Junkie
Tour Edge Exotics mini driver review + TaylorMade Spider ZT Max first look – Club Junkie
On this episode of Club Junkie, I put the new Tour Edge Exotics Mini Driver to the test and break down the performance, forgiveness, distance, and where it fits compared to a traditional driver or strong fairway wood. If you have been curious about adding a mini driver to the bag, this one is worth a look.
I also dive into the new TaylorMade Spider ZT Max putter that was recently spotted and discuss the growing zero torque putter trend. Plus, there is a closer look at the new Project X Titan Yellow shaft showing up on the PGA Tour and what makes it different from other profiles currently out there.
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Jeff Watson
Apr 26, 2021 at 4:01 am
He uses DECADE, not some ranking system.
Greg
Apr 24, 2021 at 1:02 am
just shows you don’t have to smash it to cash it