Stewart Cink maintains two-shot lead entering final day at Cologuard Classic

It wasn't an unblemished second round for Stewart Cink on Saturday, but he found a way to maintain his two-shot lead at the Cologuard Classic by Exact Sciences at La Paloma Country Club.

After shooting 9-under par on Friday in his first-ever round in Tucson's PGA Tour Champions tournament, which included four consecutive birdies and no bogeys, Cink logged three bogeys, but collected three birdies on the final nine holes to finish the round 2-under par (69) — 11 under through the first two days.

Cink had a chance for a three-shot lead but lipped out a roughly 20-foot putt from the fringe on the 18th hole (par 4).  

It's the first time Cink has entered the final day of a PGA Tour Champions tournament with a lead. It's also the first time Cink entered the final round of a professional tournament with a lead since his last PGA Tour win at RBC Heritage  in 2021. 

"I wouldn't characterize today's round as solid. It was a lot more scrappy than (Friday)," Cink said. "Where yesterday I got a couple of good breaks in the rough or maybe off in the desert once or twice, today was the other way around. I had to battle a lot more and made a few bogeys, made a few birdies.

"All in all, I still like where my mind and my heart are for competing out here. It's been a fun week and I'm looking forward to tomorrow." 

Cameron Beckman, who received a sponsor exemption, carded three bogeys to fall down the leaderboard and is tied for fourth place with 8 under through two days. Miguel Angel Jimenez, the other player in the final group on Saturday along with Beckman and Cink, went 3-over par and the 2022 Cologuard Classic champion tumbled down the leaderboard and is tied for 26th heading into Sunday.

Canadian Stephen Ames entered Saturday tied for sixth and fell down the leaderboard after shooting 1-under par on the front nine before a low-scoring and bogey-less back nine that three consecutive birdies, twice. Ames' 7-under round on Saturday was tied with Kevin Sutherland, the 2021 Cologuard Classic champion, for the best round on Saturday. 

Ames "was very steady eddy," he said.

"Gave myself a lot of opportunities," Ames added. "I've been working on my putting this week and that's paying off, which is nice."

Joe Durant, who hasn't won a PGA Tour Champions tournament since 2021, entered Saturday tied for sixth, but six birdies and an eagle on the second hole — par 5 — briefly moved him ahead of Cink on Saturday, albeit Durant had three bogeys.

"Very up-and-down round," Durant said. "I played well at the beginning, kind of shaky in the middle.

"I think I had some old-man nerves working today, but hopefully I can come out a little better tomorrow and play better tomorrow."

Durant is tied with South African Retief Goosen, who eagled the 11th hole par 5, for second at 9 under.

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Durant is in the hunt to have his best finish at a PGA Tour Champions tournament this season; his best finish this season is tied for 10th at the Chubb Classic.

Cink, Goosen and Durant will be the final group on Sunday and will tee off just after noon at La Paloma Country Club.

"This is a big tournament, it means a lot to every one of us playing here," Cink said. "It's easy to kind of start trying a little bit too much. There's a delicate balance between being thorough and just allowing things to happen. I think today I probably tried a little bit more than I need to, so maybe tomorrow we'll get back into maybe allowing things to happen." 

Cink 'really proud' of Cologuard Classic's objective

Every golfer at the Cologuard Classic is wearing a blue ribbon this week in honor of a cancer survivor. The Cologuard Classic's mission is to spread awareness for colorectal cancer and screening. 

Cink's blue ribbon pays tribute to Charlie Rymer, a golf broadcaster and former PGA Tour player. who was diagnosed with Stage 3 colon cancer in 2021.

Cink, who is playing in his first Cologuard Classic, said he "didn't really know that this tournament was so heavily revolving around survivorship and early screening."

"I knew obviously that Cologuard and Exact Sciences were the sponsor and Jerry (Kelly) was the host, but to the extent that I've met a lot of survivors, and I've got my friend Charlie Rymer's ribbon back there in the back of my hat, I didn't realize it was so heavily invested in that," Cink said. "So I'm really proud to be part of it."

He added: "It means a lot to me that people have the confidence to come out after they've been through something like colon cancer and become like such active advocates for it."

"Cancer has had a firsthand impact directly on our family," Cink said, whose wife, Lisa Cink, battled breast cancer, which forced Stewart Cink to briefly step away from golf in 2016.

Since Cologuard took over as the title sponsor, Tucson's PGA Tour Champions event has evolved into a movement, said Kelly, who is the tournament host and entering Sunday tied for 10th at 7 under.  

"The tournament couldn't turn into a movement rather than just a golf tournament without every single one of these players buying in," Kelly said. "I appreciate it from the bottom of my heart how they take this tournament, how they accept the people that they're playing for on their hats. I know that's an emotional play, that's very difficult for them to do. I appreciate it very much."  

Chip shots

• Kirk Triplett was disqualified on Saturday for using a "non-conforming club," according to a spokesperson from PGA Tour Champions.
• Former Arizona Wildcat Ted Purdy, who received a sponsor exemption for the Cologuard Classic, is 75th on the leaderboard at 9-over par. 
• Davis Love III withdrew from the Cologuard Classic on Saturday for undisclosed reasons. He shot 6-over par on Saturday. 
• Active or retired military members can receive free admission (plus a guest) and have access to the "Patriots' Outpost," a hospitality venue that serves food and drinks, on the 15th green at La Paloma.