Harrington: “No one has won more Senior Opens than me… that is a nice stat to put on my CV”

Pádraig Harrington’s successful defence of the U.S. Senior Open at Scioto Country Club in Ohio earned him a place in the history books as he joined Miller Barber on three titles, making them the joint most successful players in the championship’s 46-year history.

But it came as news to Harrington when it was brought up in his winner’s press conference, though he did know he’d created history of some sort.

“I didn’t realize. So it’s myself and Miller…” he said. “Fantastic. I wasn’t sure if it was the score I tied, the low score. But no, I like creating records, and to be part of that is a big deal. It just goes to show how hard it is.

“There’s a little element to me — I’m 54, and there’s new guys coming on, and it’s the first time that I’ve been knocked back a little bit since I’ve got to the Champions Tour. When I see these new guys like, oh, these guys are good. As in I had an advantage, now I’m seeing guys coming along, and I’m kind of realising there is only a window to win these tournaments.”

Along with tying Barber’s record, Harrington became the first player to win back-to-back U.S. Senior Opens since Allen Doyle in 2006 and just the fourth in history following Barber in 1984 and 1985, Gary Player in ’87 and ’88, and Doyle in ’05 and ’06.

And he admitted that there are additional challenges to overcome when you’re the defending champion.

“I’ve done a few back-to-backs in my career, so I’m happy about that, back-to-back Opens back in the day,” he said. “There is a pressure when you come in as a defending champion. Myself and I’m sure Stewart [Cink} would have been in the same boat this weekend as he won the first two majors. You tee up the first day like you’re leading already, which puts stress — I was very tentative the first day, very cautious.

“I got lucky that I finished strong and made a couple of birdies. If I didn’t make those couple of birdies the first day, I probably could have been going out the second day looking at the cut line.

“So yeah, you’re a bit tentative when you’re going in to do it. Once you get through that, maybe you relax — not relax a little, but you get used to it. You’re into tournament week.”

Harrington paid tribute to the golf course and the course setup, which required 100 percent focus and patience.

“For me, with this event, it’s the setup of the golf course,” he said. “This is a big golf course. It’s a big setup. You feel like you’re playing a real competitive tournament. You have to be at all times on your game. You’ve got to be focused, and you’ve got to be patient. You’ve got to deal with what you get. There’s a lot of stuff that can be thrown up.

“I would say I probably got this breaks this week because I did hole putts. I did hole those 10-footers for par that I had to at times, and that makes it a lot easier, maybe a lot more comfortable.”

The now four-time senior major champion (three U.S. Senior Opens and the ISPS HANDA Senior Open title in 2025) was on a 13-tournament winless streak prior to arriving at Scioto Country Club, but it’s no surprise to see that drought end at a U.S. Open setup as one of the game’s most revered grinders.

“The thing with this.. when I came to Saucon Valley I being my first USGA Senior Open, I was — I wouldn’t say surprised, I was shocked with the golf course that we were presented. I had seen nothing like this since I’d become a senior,” he explained.

“This was this was a 2004 and 2005 full major golf course, exactly replicated, heavy rough. And then I’m looking at a week like this and I’m going, what are they going to do with the pins? This looks tough. Of course the USGA provide a real tournament.

“What was interesting this week, they did a mixture because of the style of greens. You did have some nice pins if you were in positions, and they had some really, really tough pins, as well. It really has the feel of a real major. That shocked me originally. I look forward to coming back every year. This is like my — could I play one like this every week?

“You have to be patient. You have to be — all the traits that I’ve built my own career on line up at a U.S. Open. I never won one for real, but I always loved playing them because you had to really be — your mental fortitude was so important during the week of a U.S. Open.

“Again, of all our senior events, this is the one that would stand out for asking those mental questions as much as the physical questions.”