The feeling was similar to the sensations the week after a Ryder Cup or a Presidents Cup, but "much more acute," Cink says.
By Thursday, however, he was in recovery mode and back playing the kind of golf that has already lifted him from 25th to 14th in the World Ranking this year. Cink opened with a four-under 67 and followed with a 68, putting him in the hunt until defending champ Boo Weekley went Boolistic, backing up a second-round 65 with a 64 on Saturday to separate himself from the field. Cink tied for seventh, seven shots back.
Curiously, all four of Cink's career wins have come the week after a major — two at Hilton Head (2000, '04), the others at Firestone following the '04 PGA Championship and in Hartford after the '97 British Open.
"I think it's the relaxation factor — the compression up there at Augusta and the decompression [at Harbour Town]," he says. "I'm trying to figure out a way to fool myself and start grinding really hard the week before the majors."
Justin Leonard, who didn't contend in Augusta but shared the first-round lead at Harbour Town before eventually finishing 17th, equated the Masters to final exams and the Heritage to spring break.
"You come here and go on bike rides and do fun stuff with the kids," Leonard says. "Golf is almost secondary. It's easy to get in the mind-set of leaving last week's baggage behind."
Steve Flesch, the last of Trevor Immelman's pursuers to fall during the Masters, can relate. Two shots behind Immelman on the tee at the par-3 12th on Sunday, Flesch hit what he thought was a perfect eight-iron, but the capricious, swirling wind at Amen Corner swatted his ball down into Rae's Creek. The resulting 5 knocked Flesch out of the hunt, but he has no regrets.
"My mentality was, I'm almost 41, I've played in only four Masters, I'm not the longest hitter in the world and this course isn't going to get any easier for me," Flesch says. "This might be the best chance I'll ever have. I got caught by a gust on 12, tried to be aggressive coming in and made a couple bogeys because of that. That's golf. To be honest, I didn't care if I finished third or fifth or eighth — I had a chance to win and gave it my best shot."
Three more bogeys on the back nine dropped Flesch into a tie for fifth, his best finish in a major. His second-round 67 was the low round of the tournament.
The day after he failed to win the Masters, Flesch drove to the Head and had dinner with his pals from Cleveland Golf, and the next morning his Masters Hangover was joined by the real thing.
"We tied one on and had a great time," he says.
