Padraig Harrington won the US Senior Open for the third time. He ended with a score of 66 at Scioto Country Club in Ohio. Finished at 12 under par. This put him four shots ahead of Stewart Cink.
Cink had started the day in the lead. Couldn’t keep it up. Harrington made five birdies in six holes to take the lead. A final score of 71, for Cink put him at 8 under par. He came in second place just like last year.
The finish was calmer than usual for Harrington. He often makes things hard on himself late in a round. Not this time. He even called the closing holes “boring.” Good putting made the difference. “Golf is easier when you putt well,” he said.
The win put Harrington in the record book. His three US Senior Open titles match Miller Barber for the most ever. Harrington won his first in 2022. He then won in 2025 and again this year, back to back. Only Barber, Gary Player, and Allen Doyle had won it twice in a row before.
It was also his fourth senior major. He won the Senior Open Championship last year too. Harrington likes being part of golf history. “I like creating records, and to be part of that is a big deal,” he said.
Other players chased Harrington all week. George McNeill took third at 6 under on his debut.Ian Poulter finished fourth with a score of 5 under par. It was his first time here.
The players who tied for place were Retief Goosen, Jamie Donaldson and Paul Stankowski, each with a score of 4 under par.
Darren Clarke is tied for place with a score of 3, under par.
Harrington is 54 now. He knows he does not have long to win more senior majors. The best chance ends around age 56 or 57, he says. After that, it gets harder fast. New players keep turning 50 and joining the tour. So he wants to win as much as he can now. “You only have a set period to get your major wins on the Senior Tour,” he said.
