Stewart Cink’s nickname, ‘Kitchen’ is pretty popular. Some might think it was Tiger Woods’ gift. Even the 15-time major winner thought so. Why not, right? After all, he can spit out nicknames like fluttering birdies at Augusta. 

But guess what? The name ‘Kitchen’ Cink (Kitchen Sink), is almost as old as the man himself. Woods made it popular of course. Cink made a hole-in-one on the 16th at the 2022 Masters. The 15-time major winner, talking about how great it was to hear the patrons cheering, said, “I think Kitchen made one the other day. To hear that roar down there at the bottom on 16, just to hear that excitement of what this tournament brings out.”

Thus, the world got to know about Stewart Cink’s nickname. But the former Open champion later clarified that the name dates back to history. The story goes somewhat like this:

Cink was a 14-year-old amateur golfer at Florence, Alabama. In a couple of tournaments, he teamed up with a fellow named, Tom Kitchens. Cink later recalled, “Everybody just thought that was the funniest thing that Kitchens and Cink were playing together. And I was 13, 14 years old when that happened, people (have) been calling me that for years.”

Cink revealed Woods had been calling him ‘Kitchen’ for years. “It is part of the locker room banter.” But it never came out in public, so he had no reason to break it to Woods that the name wasn’t started by him. But when he was asked about it, Cink had to shatter Woods’ delusion.

“Tiger thinks he started that, but he did not start that.” Well, there you have it. But Cink’s revelation, of course, puts Woods’ penchant for coining nicknames into question. The fact is, his playing mates, even younger generations of golfers, sort of look forward to it.

Most famous Tiger Woods-given nicknames

There was a time when Tiger Woods used to extend the names of his colleagues. Bryson DeChambeau was ‘Beefey’, because of, well, you know, the muscles, the diet, and the booming drives. Previously, he also used to call the two-time major champion, ‘The Rain Man.’ Why? “He thought I was nuts, he thought I was crazy,” DeChambeau once recounted.

Tiger Woods has coined nicknames for others as well. Zach Johnson was ‘Zatch’. Jordan Spieth? ‘Spiether.’ That’s what Woods called him in one media interaction at Southern Hills during the 104th PGA Championship in May 2022. In more recent times, he gave two nicknames to Max Homa, his playing mate at the Open Championship. Homa also paired with Woods in the Masters.

Homa thought Woods might call him ‘Maxy’, which is not very cool. He was pleasantly surprised when the 48-year-old called him, ‘Homie.’ But then, just when the 33-year-old thought he was safe, the next day Tiger Woods called him by the name he dreaded the most. “Oh I had Maxy’s card.” Homa later recalled the episode in a podcast. 

So, Tiger Woods likes to give his colleagues nicknames, perhaps because he has one of the most famous ones. His father called him ‘Tiger’ in honor of a late friend.