After winning the Mexican Open and three events on the Nike Tour (now the Korn Ferry Tour) in 1996, Cink joined the PGA Tour in 1997 and won the Canon Greater Hartford Open in his rookie season. Cink performed consistently on the Tour over the next few years, picking up another win at the 2000 MCI Classic. Until his victory in the Open Championship in 2009, 2004 was his most successful season, with a fifth-place finish on the money list and wins at the MCI Heritage and at the WGC-NEC Invitational, which is one of the World Golf Championships events.