Harrington scales summit again to claim second US Senior Open
Pádraig Harrington climbed to the summit in the US Senior Open for the second time when he came out on top in a final round duel with Stewart Cink to lift the Francis Ouimet Memorial Trophy in Colorado Springs.
Champion in 2022, the Dubliner (53) carded a three-under 67 to win by one shot from the American on 11-under par 269 on the East Course at The Broadmoor, high in the Rocky Mountains.
The tenth win of Harrington’s senior career was worth $800,000, but it was also the first of a mediocre season.
Not only did it catapult him from 17th to fifth in the season-long Charles Schwab standings, it also allowed him to join Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player as one of just three players to win The Open and US Senior Open at least twice.
He played for all four days with Cink — his “happy pairing” — as they have played together often since Harrington won the first of his two Open titles at Carnoustie in 2007.
Harrington admitted he needed his share of fortune at a venue 14,000 feet above sea level, where calculating altitude and judging severely undulating greens was key.
“I think ultimately, whatever number you pick, you’ve just got to commit to it, be confident and go with it and accept maybe the odd few mistakes during the week,” Harrington said. “You'll probably find that I made the least of them, or got the least of the bad breaks. But that’s golf, isn't it?”
Tied for the 54-hole lead with Australian Mark Hensby, Harrington and Cink turned in three-under 33 to lead by five shots from a charging Miguel Angel Jimenez on 11-under.
One of the big keys for Harrington was his birdie putt at the second.
“That was a key putt for me,” he said. “Not just because I holed it, but I hit it with a lot more freedom. Yesterday I really struggled on the greens. I hit a lot of iffy putts. That was nice and pure.”
The Spaniard picked up four shots coming in to close the gap to one, but bogeyed the last to shoot 64 and finish third on nine-under.
Harrington bogeyed the 10th but made birdie to Cink’s bogey at the 11th to take the solo lead and still led by one with two to play when the American followed a birdie at the 14th with a bogey at the 15th.
Cink had great chances from six feet at the 16th and 17th to draw level but missed both, leaving Harrington a shot clear playing the last.
The American two putted from long range for a 68, and while Harrington had an eight-footer to win by two, he was beaming as he tapped in for a few inches.
Darren Clarke tied for 18th on two over after a 70 while Ballymena’s Chris Devlin was 55th on 12 over after a 72.
Meanwhile, Adrien Saddier won his first DP World Tour win in his 200th start, carding a four-under 66 to win the Italian Open by two shots from compatriot Martin Couvra on 14 under, earning them starts in The Open.
In the German Masters, Anna Foster recorded her best finish on the LET, carding a two-under 71 to tie for fourth, five strokes behind Malaysia’s Shannon Tan as Castlewarden’s Lauren Walsh shot 74 to finish joint 26th on two over.
On the HotelPlanner Tour, David Horsey emerged from a four-man play-off to claim a first win in almost ten years in the Le Vaudreuil Golf Challenge as Max Kennedy tied for 48th and Dermot McElroy ended up joint 61st as both shot 72s.
