Pádraig Harrington was delighted to chip in for birdie on 18 to tie the lead heading into the final round of the US Senior Open and preserve his place in the final group at The Broadmoor’s East Course.
Harrington will play with Stewart Cink for the fourth successive round and Mark Hensby after the trio all carded rounds of 68 to sit top on eight-under, one shot clear of Thomas Bjorn. The Dubliner produced some late fireworks, chipping in from short of the 18th green to keep the share of the lead he has held since day one.
“It’s always great to chip in,” said Harrington. “It was great to chip in on the last hole. It was straightforward on the green, but I was chipping against the grain. There was quite a bit of grain on that slope. So getting good contact was never going to be easy.
“Yeah, I was very happy with the chip, and it was a big bonus that it went in.”
On Saturday, Harrington was making all the right moves, as he roared to the turn in 32 after birdies on the 2nd, 3rd, 6th and 9th while Cink also turned in 32 and Hensby 34.
The former US Senior Open winner says his final group 3-ball felt more like a casual birdie fest and certainly helped everyone in the group.
“There was great momentum in the group,” added Harrington who doubled the par-3 12th and bogeyed 15 before bouncing back on the last.
“It was a very pleasant group, I’ve got to say. It’s very early, but we seemed to be happy for each other making birdies and getting going and moving forward, which is kind of important in the group. The last thing you want to do on a Saturday is get cut open, shoot level par, and all of a sudden the field comes back into it.
“Obviously we would have all liked if we got a little bit more under, but it did get tricky there with that wind start swirling around, and I certainly lost a bit of trust on the green. It was tough coming home, so it was a nice bonus for me. It’s nice to be, as I said to the three lads, we could have taken the day out and just gone out as the three leaders tomorrow.”
The three-time major winner would love to add a second senior major to his collection and although he still likes to bounce around the main tours on occasion, being in contention to win a major title in his 50s is why he still plays the game.
“That’s why we do it. That’s why we play the game at this age of our life. We still like the idea of competing and hitting great shots. In some ways, when you’re playing out here on the Seniors, you’re reliving your past glories, and you hit some great shots that you once hit as a junior, and it feels good. We do hit a few of the other ones too. But the whole thing of playing out here is for that thrill again.”
Darren Clarke’s chances ended with a three-over 73 as he fell back to plus two.
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