Date: June 23, 2008
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O’Hern 19th as Cink breaks drought

Stewart Cink has taken out the PGA Tour&aposs Travelers Championship on Sunday by a single stroke after a solid final-round 67. Entering the final round with a two-shot lead, Cink squandered the advantage before regaining it to win by one over 2007 champion Hunter Mahan and Tommy Armour III. Cink carded a three-under-par 67 to finish at 18-under 262 overall. He also won the tournament in 1997 when it was known as the Greater Hartford Open. Australian Nick O&aposHern had his fourth consecutive round in the 60s – this time a 68 – to come home in a tie for 19th spot at 10-under, while rookie Jason Day and veteran Steve Elkington were a stroke further back at nine-under. Peter Lonard had a closing 67 to finish at seven-under, with Stuart Appleby (five-under), Andrew Buckle (four-under) and Brett Rumford (two-under) all well down the leaderboard. Overcoming a brief weather delay during the final round, Cink carded four birdies and a bogey. The American endured his lone bogey at the par-four fourth hole, then was flawless the rest of the way as he collected the first prize of $US1.08 million. It was the fifth career title and first since 2004 for Cink, who finished fifth last week at the US Open. On a hazy and muggy day, Cink endured a rough start with a bogey at the fourth. But he picked up shots with birdies at numbers six and nine to make the turn at one-under, a shot in front of the field. The 35-year-old, who was the Tour Rookie of the Year when he won here 11 years ago, also sank a birdie putt at the par-five 13th before play was suspended due to the threat of a thunderstorm. When plays resumed, Cink enjoyed his final birdie at the par-four 15th, when he struck a wedge approach to within three feet of the cup. He parred his final three holes to seal his first victory since the 2004 WGC-NEC Invitational. Mahan, who was defending a title for the first time in his career, birdied his final two holes to finish off with a 65. It was his first top-five finish since he tied for fifth at the season-opening Mercedes-Benz Championship. Armour shot a bogey-free 65 en route to matching his best finish since he also placed second at the Chrysler Championship in 2004. Heath Slocum (67) finished fourth, followed by Vijay Singh (68). Final Round Scores from the Travelers Championship, CT -18: Stewart Cink 66 64 65 67 -17: Hunter Mahan 68 63 67 65, Tommy Armour 111 69 64 65 65 -16: Heath Slocum 67 66 64 67 -14: Vijay Singh 66 68 67 68 -13: Michael Allan 69 66 68 64, Bubba Watson 66 68 67 66, Brad Adamonis 64 68 68 67, Kenny Perry 66 67 65 69 -12: Corey Pavin 68 66 70 64, Michael Letzig 68 68 63 69, Kevin Streelman 73 63 62 70 -11: Ben Curtis 68 66 69 66, Brian Davis 64 70 69 66, Tag Ridings 66 70 66 67, Tom Pernice Jnr 65 68 68 68, John Huston 65 69 67 68, Chris DiMarco 66 69 64 70, Justin Rose 65 72 66 67, Briny Baird 67 70 66 67, Tim Herron 66 69 67 68 Also: -10: Nick O&aposHern (Australia) 68 69 65 68 -9: Jason Day (Australia) 67 67 66 71 Steve Elkington (Australia) 70 64 66 71 -7: Peter Lonard (Australia) 66, 70, 70, 67 -5: Stuart Appleby (Australia) 68 67 69 -4: Andrew Buckle (Australia) 68 68 72 68 -2: Brett Rumford (Australia) 67, 65, 72, 76