Padraig Harrington and Mark Hensby share the first-round lead at the U.S. Senior Open after both shot 3-under 67 at the Broadmoor in Colorado Springs. They’re one shot clear of six players, including Stewart Cink, who nearly put together a perfect round of ball-striking.
Harrington, the 2022 U.S. Senior champion, made all four of his birdies on the front nine, which played considerably easier than the back. His round could’ve unraveled on the par-4 15th when he snapped his tee shot deep into the woods. After taking a cart back to the tee box, he hit his third shot into the right rough. But the Irishman showed his major championship mettle by hitting his approach to 20 feet and draining the putt to save bogey.
That damage control proved crucial as he parred his way in to maintain a share of the lead.
Hensby’s day was a tale of two nines. The Aussie caught fire early with seven birdies on his front nine, reaching 6-under at the turn. But he stumbled coming home with bogeys on his final two holes, leaving him visibly frustrated.
“Obviously, I felt like I lost some out there,” Hensby said. “It’s just frustrating. I played like (expletive) the back nine. What else can you say?”
Both bogeys came after drives that missed fairways, finding the thick rough that lines the Broadmoor. But it’s not just the rough causing problems – the mountain-influenced greens are proving just as challenging.
“It’s just a different version of what we saw at Oakmont, with really treacherous greens,” said Notah Begay, who made the field as an alternate and shot even par. “We got a break today, to be fair.”
Players benefited from relatively calm conditions and a course softened by a massive thunderstorm less than two days ago. Even with those advantages, only 17 players in the 156-man field finished under par.
That makes Hensby’s front-nine 30 all the more impressive, especially considering David Toms won with just 3-under total when the tournament was last held here in 2018.
Hensby, who shot 63 in the second round of last year’s U.S. Open at Newport Country Club, acknowledged his feast-or-famine tendencies.
“I’ve never been a very consistent player,” he said. “I’m hot or cold, and that kind of sucks. Certain shots I keep hitting during rounds, it just (ticks) me off, so to speak. So yeah, the back nine was just kind of a bit of that.”
