Stewart Cink, the 2025 PGA Tour Champions Player of the Year, opened the new season with three-shot victory on Saturday at the Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai in Ka’upulehu-Kona, Hawaii.
Cink carded a bogey-free round of 8-under-par 64 to finish at 23-under 193 in the three-round event at Hualalai Golf Course.
“I wanted to come out here this year and start hot and not work my way into the season,” said Cink, 52. “I’m not going to play for almost two months now, so it really meant a lot to come out here and play well. You have to make a lot of birdies, and sometimes the first tournament of the year is not the easiest place to make a lot of birdies, but I was able to this week. Played really solid and I’m very pleased.”
Argentina’s Angel Cabrera followed his 62 on Friday with a 6-under 66 on Saturday to finish alone in second at 20 under. South Africa’s Retief Goosen (64) moved up eight spots to place third at 18 under.
Cink birdied Nos. 1, 4, 6, 9, 10, 14, 15 and 16. He said a par save on the par-3 No. 8 kept his momentum after missing a birdie putt on No. 7.
“It’s not awful, but it kind of feels a little bit like a bogey,” Cink said of his par at the par-5 No. 7. “To have an 11-, 12-footer for par there (on No. 8) and to can that one, that gave me a lot of momentum, a lot of belief and trust and I rode that all the way.”
Cink was an eight-time winner on the PGA Tour, including The Open Championship in 2009. He has won five times in 37 events played on the PGA Tour Champions — three tournaments in 2025, including the season-ending Charles Schwab Cup Championship.
He finished the tournament first in total birdies (23), tied for first with Cabrera in average driving distance (312.20 yards) and second in longest drive (340 yards) to Cabrera’s 362-yarder. Cink also tied for second in scrambling (10 of 11, 90.9%).
The long-driving Cabrera recovered from a bogey on the par-4 first hole with birdies at Nos. 3, 4 and 7 for 2-under 34 on the front nine. He needed to shave more strokes in pursuit of Cink, the second-round co-leader, and eagled the par-5 No. 10. Back-to-back birdies on Nos. 13-14 were followed by pars on the last four holes.
Second-round co-leader Freddie Jacobson of Sweden shot 2-under 70 to finish tied for fourth at 17 under. First-round leader Stephen Ames of Canada shot 72 and tied for ninth at 14 under.
