Stewart Cink Reveals Why Now Was The Right Time To Make PGA Tour Champions Switch
The eight-time PGA Tour winner has told Golfweek why he is committing to the senior tour having claimed his first victory on it in August


Stewart Cink says he will play on the PGA Tour Champions from next season.
The eight-time PGA Tour winner revealed the news in an exclusive interview with Golfweek’s Adam Schupak, where he explained the moment he knew it was time to commit to the senior circuit.
Cink has been eligible for PGA Tour Champions since turning 50. Now aged 51, he explained to Schupak that the time had come to dedicate more of his time to it having made 11 appearances in 2024.
He revealed he had discussed the decision with his wife after missing the cut at the Wyndham Championship in August. That left him 173rd in the FedEx Cup standings and needing to reach the top 125 after the FedEx Cup Fall to achieve exempt status for the following season. With the prospect of that getting even harder in the future, he decided it was time to move on.
He explained: “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. 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.”
Stewart Cink's most recent PGA Tour win came at the 2021 RBC Heritage
Cink also said that his age was becoming a factor, too, and not just on the course. He added: “I love playing the PGA Tour, 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 folk are on the Champions Tour. So I told my wife, ‘I think it's time to switch over.'”
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The most recent of Cink’s PGA Tour wins came in April 2021, when he claimed the RBC Heritage title for the third time, but he tasted victory again this year on the PGA Tour Champions at the Ally Challenge. The American is convinced he can build on that success in the months and years ahead.
Stewart Cink won the Ally Challenge in August for his maiden PGA Tour Champions title
“I have this window and I don't want to look back and say I didn't take advantage of it,” he explained. “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.”
Before preparing for the 2025 season, Cink is competing in this week’s PNC Championship alongside son Connor. The pair finished the first round tied for ninth following a nine-under round of 63.
Mike has over 25 years of experience in journalism, including writing on a range of sports throughout that time, such as golf, football and cricket. Now a freelance staff writer for Golf Monthly, he is dedicated to covering the game's most newsworthy stories.
He has written hundreds of articles on the game, from features offering insights into how members of the public can play some of the world's most revered courses, to breaking news stories affecting everything from the PGA Tour and LIV Golf to developmental Tours and the amateur game.
Mike grew up in East Yorkshire and began his career in journalism in 1997. He then moved to London in 2003 as his career flourished, and nowadays resides in New Brunswick, Canada, where he and his wife raise their young family less than a mile from his local course.
Kevin Cook’s acclaimed 2007 biography, Tommy’s Honour, about golf’s founding father and son, remains one of his all-time favourite sports books.
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