It’s as you were at the top of the US Senior Open leaderboard with Pádraig Harrington in a share of the lead at the halfway stage alongside Mark Hensby and Stewart Cink at The Broadmoor’s East Course after a weather-affected second day.
Harrington rolled in a fifteen-foot birdie putt on the ninth, his last, for another round of 67 which gives him a six-under total and he was able to get into the clubhouse before the hooter sounded to suspend play for inclement weather.
“I wouldn’t say either of them were better, but today had a better opportunity. If you get 3-under early on on the back nine, there is possibilities with the two par-5s and the drivable par-4. The start I got this morning, I was hoping to go a little lower and maybe try and get away from the field.
“As I said yesterday, most of Thursday and Friday is jockeying for position, keeping yourself in the tournament, trying not to lose the tournament, but after the start I had today, I could have got some daylight between myself and the field and got out there.
“I just have to go and do it all again the next two days.”
It was another quick start for the three-time major winner who birdied three of his first four holes, playing the course from back to front, while his playing partner and co-leader Cink birdied five of his last seven holes. The 2009 Open champion is the perfect partner for the Dubliner.
“Oh, it is a benefit, yeah. I played with Stewart a lot over the years, and a lot of my good tournaments have been played with Stewart, so he’s a good partner for me always. I think on the Champions Tour, it’s a better partner because there’s a lot of similarities in our clubs.
“If anything, he’d be a little bit longer than me, but his irons — but I suppose I know his game enough that I can see what’s happening, as well. He is definitely a partner I would choose to play with.”
Playing at altitude and with his knees starting to ache slightly, Harrington was delighted to get finished before the suspension of play and he hopes it’s worth a shot or two over the weekend as he tries to clinch his second senior major.
“I think it was a big deal to get finished when it came in. I don’t think the rain stoppage is going to be for long. It looks like they’re holding in place, so they’re going to go pretty quickly. But for us, if we had to cool down and come back out, it wouldn’t have been great for the week.
“Now I have — this is the advantage of having a late-early tee time. It gives you an extra — I probably got close to 24 hours before my next round, so it’s time to rest and get your head in place because it’s going to be a long weekend from now for sure. When you’re at the top of the leaderboard all week, it’s always a stressful week.”
Darren Clarke can’t be ruled out of the mix either after a second round of 68 moved him into a share of seventh place on one-under and just five off the pace.
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