Padraig Harrington of Ireland and Mark Hensby of Australia each shot 3-under-par 67 on Thursday to share the first-round lead in the U.S. Senior Open at Broadmoor Golf Club in Colorado Springs.
Harrington and Hensby are ahead by one stroke over seven players tied at 68, with three rounds to go at the fourth of five senior major championships.
Harrington, who won this championship in 2022 early in his senior career, birdied four of his first eight holes on Thursday before playing the back nine in 1 over par.
“I was 4 under through eight and probably could have been a little bit more,” Harrington said. “I three-putted 9. The back nine is hard, but I was still really feeling my way around that nine.
“I only played it once before. I was a little bit tentative in the lead. I suppose it’s a little harder when you’re leading and not knowing the course 100 percent like you would like to.”
Harrington led the field in driving distance on Thursday and hit 15 of 18 greens in regulation.
It was a different story for Hensby, who won just once during his PGA Tour career and has one victory on the PGA Tour Champions.
Hensby managed to make just three pars in his opening round. He went out in 6-under 30 — seven birdies, one bogey — but made five bogeys and two birdies on his back nine.
“Obviously I felt like I lost some (shots) out there,” Hensby said. “It’s just frustrating. I played like (expletive) the back nine. What else can you say?
“But I’ve never been a very consistent player. I’m hot or cold, and that kind of sucks. Certain shots I keep hitting during rounds, it just (ticks) me off, so to speak. So yeah, the back nine was just kind of a bit of that.”
The seven players who turned in rounds of 2-under 68 were Bob Estes, Ken Tanigawa, Stewart Cink, Matt Gogel, Scotland’s Stephen Gallacher, Sweden’s Freddie Jacobson and Denmark’s Thomas Bjorn.
Jacobson got to 68 the hard way. He started his round on the back nine and was 1 over through his first 12 holes, but he finished with three birdies, two bogeys and a closing eagle over his final six.
“I hit the fairway, just hung (it) on the right side, so I was happy about that,” Jacobson said of his eagle at the par-5 ninth. “Had a 7-wood left. Just got lucky with the back ridge, and it ran back towards the pin a little bit, made that putt. Not easy, but a lot easier than if it stayed up there, so I was very happy about that.”
Spaniard Miguel Angel Jimenez — coming off a win at last week’s major, the Kaulig Companies Championship — opened with a 1-under 69 and is tied for 10th. Angel Cabrera of Argentina, who won the first two senior majors of the season, shot a 3-over 73.
–Field Level Media
