Stewart Cink, Charlie Wi share US
Senior Open lead after opening 67s
[July 03, 2026]
By JOE REEDY
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Stewart Cink got off to a great start in a bid
to win his third straight senior major.
Cink was the only player to make five birdies on the back nine at
Scioto Country Club on Thursday, shooting a 3-under 67 for a share
of the first-round lead in the U.S. Senior Open with Charlie Wi.
Cink struggled on the front nine, shooting a 2-over 37, but found
momentum once he made the turn.
“I’ve been off for a little while, and I started like I’ve been off
for a little while. I had to prove it to myself again that I could
play decent golf a certain way,” Cink said. “The back nine was
really nice. I actually could have shot quite a bit lower on the
back nine. I missed three very reasonably like inside — right around
10 feet or less birdie putts.”
The 53-year-old Cink has four wins in nine PGA Tour Champions starts
this year, including the Senior PGA Championship and the Tradition.
The last player to win the Senior PGA, Tradition and U.S. Senior
Open in the same year was Jack Nicklaus in 1991. Scioto, the Donald
Ross course hosting its third U.S. Senior Open, is where Nicklaus
learned to play the game.
Simon Griffiths, Freddie Jacobson and George McNeill were tied for
third at 68. Defending champion Padraig Harrington was among a group
of 10 players at 69.
“Of course it’s tough, we know that, so once you get through that,
the golf course itself is playing nicely,” Harrington said.
Cink is also attempting to become the fifth player to win the event
after being runner-up the previous year. Fred Funk was the last to
do it in 2009.
Cink was part of the seventh afternoon group to tee off from the
first hole and played in the toughest conditions of the day, when
the temperature reached 95 degrees midway through his round and a
heat index of 103 according to the National Weather Service.
“The heat is a factor for sure. It affects your focus and your
energy level. Sometimes even the simplest shots just kind of -- it’s
easy to fall asleep at the wheel when the conditions are like that,”
he said.
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Stewart Cink hits from the first fairway during the second round of
the PGA Championship golf tournament at Aronimink Golf Club May 15,
2026, in Newtown Square, PA. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II, File)
Cink tied Wi with a birdie on the par-4 18th.
Cink's tee shot found one of the bunkers on the left hand side, but
he got a great lie. His second shot landed within 2 feet near the
front of the hole, and made for an easy putt.
Wi was at even par through his first 11 holes before his string of
birdies on holes three through seven holes. Wi made a double bogey
on the par-4 eighth before ending his round with a par.
Wi thought his best shot came on the par-3 fourth, when he hit his
tee shot within a couple feet with a 5-iron on the 205-yard hole.
“I hit the ball pretty solid today, made a couple of putts. It was a
hot day. I just made sure that I stayed in the ballgame, meaning
like mentally, because you could easily lose it out there,” he said.
Wi’s run of bridies ended on the eighth hole when his second shot
went left and into the water near the green. He is the 14th player
in the 46-year history of the Senior Open to have at least five
straight birdies in a round. The last time it happened was in 2022
when Thongchai Jaidee birdied Nos. 5-9 at the Saucon Valley Country
Club's Old Course in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, during the third
round.
The 54-year old South Korean player has nine worldwide professional
victories — including five on the Korean Tour — but none on the PGA
Tour or Champions circuit.
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