Padraig Harrington chipped in from 20 yards off the green on the 18th hole Saturday to salvage a floundering round and pull back into a tie for the lead at the U.S. Senior Open.
Harrington, Stewart Cink and Mark Hensby all sit at 8-under 202 heading into Sunday’s final round at the Broadmoor in Colorado Springs. The trio played together during a wild third round that featured wind, rain and even a lightning delay that pulled players off the course for 30 minutes.
“We could’ve taken the day off,” Harrington quipped as he shook hands with his playing partners after their eventful day.
Harrington’s chip-in birdie capped a 2-under 68 that featured plenty of ups and downs. His dramatic finish came after he yanked his tee shot into the rough left of the fairway on 18, forcing him to hack out over the lake and short of the green. What looked like a potential bogey turned into an unlikely birdie, guaranteeing him a spot in Sunday’s final group as he pursues his second U.S. Senior Open title since 2022.
Hensby matched Harrington’s 68 despite a more volatile scorecard that included four birdies and an eagle. That brings his tournament birdie total to an impressive 19. But his best look of the day — a 6-foot uphill putt on 18 that came while the course was still buzzing from Harrington’s chip-in — slid far right, leaving him to settle for par.
Cink’s round included a bizarre sequence on the par-3 16th where his third shot came from farther away than his second after misreading a putt from just off the green that curled some 30 feet away from the hole. The resulting bogey dropped him into a tie, and he finished with a pair of pars.
Thomas Bjorn sits just one shot behind the leaders after firing a 66, matching the best round of the day and setting up what appears to be a four-man battle for the title.
Steve Flesch (67) is next at 4 under, while Steven Alker’s 66 left him at 3 under, tied with Miguel Angel Jimenez (68) and Paul Stankowski (67).
One more shot back is Billy Andrade (70), whose round featured plenty of drama. He collapsed in agony after his approach on 17, yet somehow still made par. That came about an hour after his tee shot on 13 slammed into a tree about 40 yards left of the tee box and came to rest in the closely mown strip between the tee and the fairway.
Harrington’s rollercoaster round included needing two chips from the deep rough on the par-3 12th, resulting in a double bogey that cost him the lead. Another bogey came on 15 when he babied a 5-foot par putt that curled away well before reaching the hole.
But his clutch finish on 18 erased those mistakes and sets up what should be a compelling final round with the championship on the line.
