Harrington tames The Broadmoor’s greens to win U.S. Senior Open

The dark clouds over head were the only downside to 2025 U.S. Open

By Jim Bebbington

As Padraig Harrington stood on the 18th fairway about 138 meters (he’s from the Republic of Ireland; forgive him) from the pin, his caddie reminded him of something that Hal Irwin had told him.

“I was coming down 18 and I said to my caddie Ronan ‘look if I birdie this hole I win,” Harrington said. “It takes all the permutations out of it. And Ronan reminded me of something Hal Irwin told me over the years: always hit the shot you would hit if you were one shot behind. And that gave me good clarity to what I was going to do because obviously if you’re one shot behind you’d be hitting at that pin, you got to take it on.”

And so he did. His crisp half-wedge landed about eight-feet from the pin, up on the back shelf where the pin had been tucked. He had taken out of play nearly the entire roller coaster of the 18th green.

“It’s such a simple thing (Irwin’s advice) and it’s perfect,” Harrington said.

And after playing partner Stewart Cink’s 40-foot putt pulled up short, Harrington had his second U.S. Senior Open championship on his resume to go with three majors he secured during his PGA Tour run. He shot 11-under for the week, one better than Cink’s 10-under. The win brought him $800,000.

“I don’t regret how I approached the game and how I went about it (when younger), but certainly I now appreciate more how much effort it takes to play on a Sunday compared to every other day and if you want to win tournaments you’ve got to be exceptionally fresh and mentally fresh,” Harrington said.

Two decades ago the 53-year-old said he was strict with himself and everything he did during tournament weeks was about preparing the right way. This week, on Wednesday night – the night before the first round – he went to In-and-Out Burger here in Colorado Springs and had two double doubles.

“I definitely make an effort to enjoy my tournaments more,” he said. “I didn’t eat french fries or burgers for 10, 15 years during my career.”

Cheat meals or not, Harrington had just enough to fend off a strong, experienced field. Throughout the week he played beside 52-year-old Stewart Cink. They were tied at 11-under deep into the back nine Sunday before Cink made a bogey on No. 15 to slip one back. Cink threw darts at the pins on 16 – a par 3 to a pin tucked behind a right-side bunker – and on 17. But both putts slipped past the cups.

“The closer you get to the end of the tournament, you just know there’s a result waiting,” Cink said. “It feels like a countdown in a way. We were just neck and neck pretty much the whole way, all the way through the second half of the tournament. Today was no exception. It was back and forth. It was great shots. There was a few not so great shots, but for the most part, we both played really well.”

This was Cink’s first U.S. Senior Open as he extended his time up to this season playing a heavy PGA Tour schedule.

“I was proud of myself,” he said. “I hung in there great, gave myself a chance. I didn’t quite hole the putts at the very end that I really needed to take that next step up,” he said.

Cink came to The Broadmoor East course forewarned about the tricky putting greens, and throughout the week his caddy deployed a compass on the greens to confirm each time which way was east – away from the dominant Cheyenne Mountain influence.

“The greens are very difficult to read,” he said. “It’s hard to commit and be decisive on what you’re going to do with your putting out there. If you are anything less than 100 percent committed, it will spit you out.”

Miguel Angel Jimenez, cigar in mouth, nearly caught them, making birdies throughout the back nine to briefly tie with Cink at 10-under. Playing two groups behind Jimenez, Harrington said that was the only time he paid attention to the rest of the field. Jimenez won last week’s PGA Tour Champions event and is on a hot streak.

“When (my caddie) told me that Miguel was 9-under, that was worrying because he’s in a form that, if anybody is going to make some birdies, it’s Miguel,” Harrington said.

Jimenez stayed close until his 3-wood off the 18th tee ended in the left rough. He said the lie was ‘almost unplayable’ and he was forced to punch out, short of a pond that guarded the 18th green. He then chipped over but missed his par putt.

“If I had a chance to get on the green, I would go for that,”Jimenez said. “But as I was talking with my caddie, okay, maybe you can pass the water, but we cannot do anything from there. Is it worth the risk?”

In the end the winner was not just Harrington. The Broadmoor – both the resort and the course – came away with high praise from the field. That is partly why pre-tournament the USGA announced that the U.S. Senior Open will return here in 2031 and 2037.

The match was over by 1:50 p.m. because for the second straight day the USGA used a double start with groups going off Sunday at 7 a.m. on both 1 and 10 tees under bright clear skies. The leaders teed off at 8:50 a.m., storm clouds began gathering at 10, and Harrington  putted out and celebrated his trophy ceremony with ominous black clouds overhead.

“We were looking at that cloud all day,” he said.

In the end Harrington ended his first visit to Colorado a happier, and wealthier man.

“It’s unbelievable; we’re so much better together at this stage of our careers,” he said. “Everybody is happier, friendlier, we’re not half as grumpy as we were when we were young guys. I think as. you get older you realize that you don’t actually have all the secrets…. We’re still competitive on the golf course and we want to play great golf, but I think the environment around the Champions is really nice.”

Top Five:

1. Padraig Harrington, 11-under
2. Stewart Cink, 10-under
3. Miguel Angel Jimenez, 9-under
4. T-Thomas Bjorn, 5-under

4. T-Mark Hensby, 5-under

Colorado Connections

T36 – Brandt Jobe, 7-over

T36 – Shane Bertsch – 7-over

 

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Jim Bebbington is the Director of Content at Colorado AvidGolfer and can be reached at [email protected]

Colorado AvidGolfer Magazine is the state’s leading resource for golf and the lifestyle that surrounds it, publishing eight issues annually and proudly delivering daily content via coloradoavidgolfer.com.

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