Ireland's Padraig Harrington parlayed four front-nine birdies on Sunday into steady back-nine play that resulted in a one-shot victory at the US Senior Open at Broadmoor Golf Club in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
Harrington fired a 3-under-par 67 to assure a single-stroke victory at 11-under 269 over runner-up Stewart Cink.
"It was entertaining, wasn't it?" Harrington asked rhetorically after the victory.
It was his first win on the PGA Tour Champions in 2025 after previously tying for second at the Senior PGA Championship in May. The win was Harrington's second in four years at this event, however, after previously winning in 2022.
He credited his comfort level on the course with helping him prevail late.
"Here I'm comfortable," Harrington said. "Look, here I'm not thinking I'm going to miss the cut. Touch wood that doesn't happen. I'm not thinking about that. If you brought me to a regular event on Thursday afternoon, I would be thinking about the cut line.
"Whereas here I'm thinking how do I get myself into position. And even the first couple of days I got going and I could have got away from the field. I dropped back a couple (shots). I was still going. All I want to be is with nine holes to go to give myself a chance and be in the right headspace at that time."
Cink, who came into the day tied atop the leaderboard with Harrington and Australian Mark Hensby, led through eight holes on the strength of four straight birdies over Nos. 2-5. But Harrington's birdie on the par-5, 530-yard ninth pulled him back into a tie.
Harrington had a bogey at No. 10, a birdie at No. 11, and then made par on every hole the rest of the way.
Cink, in contrast, had two bad holes – the 11th and 15th – and just one birdie to compensate (14th), leaving him a shot shy of what he needed to force a playoff.
'THAT'S BROADMOOR FOR YOU'
He cited two missed putt opportunities on the 16th and 17th as being the difference.
"Those are two putts where the break on the green is going against that mountain," Cink said. "There's not a lot on this course that goes against that mountain. You have to decide which one's going to win out. You can feel it in your feet and you can see where the mountain is and you know where the valley is. It's just really, really hard to commit.
"That typifies what you get here, and it's frustrating because I hit really good iron shots there to put myself in position to get up there and force Harrington to make a little bit more of a heroic finish than just pars. But it wasn't to be. I don't know, that's Broadmoor for you. I wish I could have those two putts over."
Spain's Miguel Angel Jimenez made a tremendous charge and got to 10 under, tied with Cink headed into the final hole. But he bogeyed No. 18 to drop him into a third-place finish at 9 under, despite shooting 6-under 64 on the day.
"If I had a chance to get on the green, I would go for that." Jimenez said about shooting a 5 on the par-4 18th. "But as I was talking with my caddie, ‘OK, maybe you can pass the water, but we cannot do anything from there. Is it worth the risk?' Then I still need to go, but he's right. Then make not a bad wedge where I hit it after.
"I went high left, more or less, pin high and missed it, but at least give myself a chance to make 4. But if I put it in the water, bye-bye."
Hensby, meanwhile, shot a 3-over 73 to fall into a tie for fourth at 5 under with Denmark's Thomas Bjorn (72).