Latest news with #Hensby
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Australia golfer's hot start to Senior British Open
Australia's Mark Hensby has fired five consecutive birdies in a dream start to the Senior British Open and holds second spot after the opening round. Hensby is a shot adrift of New Zealander Steve Alker who set the early pace with a stellar seven-under 63 on Thursday at Sunningdale in Berkshire, England. Hensby's 64 featured five-straight birdies to start - he landed two more, but also a bogey, in his six-under round. "The first three holes, I wasn't outside three feet," the 54-year-old said. The winner of the ISPS HANDA Senior Open will qualify for the 2026 Open Championship at Royal Hensby has played in @TheOpen three times, most recently in 2007, with two top-25 opening with a 6-under 64 at Sunningdale, he's one off the lead as he… — PGA TOUR Champions (@ChampionsTour) July 24, 2025 "The back nine probably is a little bit more difficult ... there's a couple of tricky tee shots." Last month, Hensby was tied with Padraig Harrington and Stewart Cink going into the final round of the US Senior Open before finishing fourth, an experience he planned to draw upon in coming days. "I learned a lot playing with Padraig and Stewart the last day," he said. "You don't have to be perfect and, unfortunately, we feel like we have to. "Padraig played great the last nine holes and it was fun to be there and watch and competing, even though I wasn't in contention the last nine holes." Hensby, whose only senior tour victory is the 2023 Invited Celebrity Classic, trails Alker who had no issues with the back nine, shooting five-under 30 in the stretch. American Joe Durant and South Korea's KJ Choi, the defending champion, are tied for third at four-under with a host of players a further shot back, including Harrington and Ernie Els.
Perth Now
5 days ago
- Sport
- Perth Now
Australia golfer's hot start to Senior British Open
Australia's Mark Hensby has fired five consecutive birdies in a dream start to the Senior British Open and holds second spot after the opening round. Hensby is a shot adrift of New Zealander Steve Alker who set the early pace with a stellar seven-under 63 on Thursday at Sunningdale in Berkshire, England. Hensby's 64 featured five-straight birdies to start - he landed two more, but also a bogey, in his six-under round. "The first three holes, I wasn't outside three feet," the 54-year-old said. "The back nine probably is a little bit more difficult ... there's a couple of tricky tee shots." Last month, Hensby was tied with Padraig Harrington and Stewart Cink going into the final round of the US Senior Open before finishing fourth, an experience he planned to draw upon in coming days. "I learned a lot playing with Padraig and Stewart the last day," he said. "You don't have to be perfect and, unfortunately, we feel like we have to. "Padraig played great the last nine holes and it was fun to be there and watch and competing, even though I wasn't in contention the last nine holes." Hensby, whose only senior tour victory is the 2023 Invited Celebrity Classic, trails Alker who had no issues with the back nine, shooting five-under 30 in the stretch. American Joe Durant and South Korea's KJ Choi, the defending champion, are tied for third at four-under with a host of players a further shot back, including Harrington and Ernie Els.
Irish Examiner
29-06-2025
- Sport
- Irish Examiner
Harrington's chip-in on 18 leaves him tied with Hensby, Cink at US Senior Open
AFTER leaving one chip in the rough and losing a bit of trust on the greens, Padraig Harrington was looking for something to give him hope heading into what promises to be a tumultuous final day in the US Seniors Open at the topsy, turvy Broadmoor. A chip-in from 20 yards for birdie on No. 18 did the trick. It gave Harrington a share of the lead, a spot in the final group and left him one more good round away from winning the U.S. Senior Open for the second time in four years. Harrington's chip-in Saturday pulled him into a tie with Stewart Cink and Mark Hensby, same as he was heading into the day. Playing in the same threesome, all three shot 2-under 68 to finish at 8-under 202. Only one walked away with that extra pep in his step that comes from making a shot like that. 'It was special to hole out on the 18th, with everybody watching, the anticipation,' Harrington said. 'It was very exciting and very nice that I didn't have to hit another shot.' One shot behind was Thomas Bjorn, whose 66 matched the best round of the day and set up what appears to be a four-man fight for the title. Steve Flesch (67) was another three shots back at 4 under and Steven Alker's 66 left him at 3 under, tied with Miguel Angel Jimenez (68) and Paul Stankowski (67). One more shot back was Billy Andrade (70), he of the ailing back who collapsed in agony after his approach on No. 17, yet somehow still made par there. It was fitting picture given all the pain and confusion the heavily tilted Broadmoor causes, especially when it's set up for major-championship conditions. 'It's what you do on those last four or five holes that are fairly tough and ask some big questions,' Bjorn said. 'I'm quite sure the pin position tomorrow is going to have more questions for us. That's where you win the golf tournament.' Hensby's worst taste of the greens came on 18. With the gallery still buzzing from Harrington's hole-out, the Australian, whose 54th birthday is Sunday, left a 6-foot birdie for the solo lead short. It curled hard to the right without reaching the hole. Even so, Hensby made four more birdies (along with an eagle) to finish Day 3 with 19 for the tournament. Cink, by comparison, has 13. Hensby can take comfort that he, more than anyone, has figured out how to hit from long range on greens that Justin Leonard said are 'right on par with trying to putt at Augusta National.' 'You can have a 5-footer that can break 2 feet,' Hensby said. 'People go, 'Ahh,' when you miss a 4-footer even though you're aiming at a cup outside left edge and hoping. But it was fun.' No single putt illustrated this more than Cink's on the par-3 16th. Ffrom just off the green, his birdie attempt curled past the hole and some 30 feet from the flag as the ever-present slope of Cheyenne Mountain took its toll. Still, he wasn't complaining after a four-birdie, two-bogey round on a day filled with sun, clouds, wind, rain and even a flash of lightning that pulled the players off the course for a half-hour. And the 6,000 feet of altitude. 'We hit some shots out there that we really didn't know what to expect when the ball was in the air,' Cink said. 'There was one where on a par-3, on the 12th hole, it was a 228-yard shot, and I hit an 8-iron. How do you figure that kind of stuff?' Cink and Hensby looked like they'd finish tied by themselves for the lead they had shared with Harrington before the Irishman started losing momentum on the back nine. The three-time major champion needed two chips from the deep rough on the par-3 12th and made double bogey to fall out of the lead. Another bogey came on 15 when he babied a 5-foot par putt and it curled away well before the hole. 'I certainly lost a bit of trust on the green,' Harrington said. He set up the fabulous finish by yanking his tee shot on 18 into the rough left of the fairway, giving him no choice but to hack out over the lake and short of the green. But he turned a possible bogey into an unlikely birdie and guaranteed himself a spot in the final group Sunday, where he'll play in the same threesome (due to weather) as he did Saturday. It also will mark his fourth straight day of going head-to-head with Cink. 'I did want to be in the last group, yes, and the only way I could be in the last group was making that birdie,' Harrington said. 'But just because you want something doesn't mean you can. If it was as easy as that, we'd be all great.
Irish Examiner
27-06-2025
- Sport
- Irish Examiner
For Harrington, one bogey outshines the birdies to keep him in share of lead at US Open
Padraig Harrington said he thought it was one part nice, another part disappointing, to scrounge out a bogey after snapping a tee shot deep into the woods on the 15th hole of his opening round at the US Senior Open. Either way, that scramble kept Harrington atop the leaderboard, tied with Mark Hensby at 3-under 67 at the Broadmoor, where every shot is an adventure. 'You never feel good after you've lost a ball, so your head is a little scrambled,' said Harrington, the 2022 champion. 'You're just trying to get your head around what you're doing.' It's a common feeling on this course at an altitude of 6,000 feet nestled at the base of Cheyenne Mountain — a tilting landscape that impacts every putt in ways not every player can see. Stewart Cink hit his first 17 greens on a calm opening day, but finished with a bogey on No. 18 after his first miss. He was part of a group of seven, including Thomas Bjorn, at 68. 'It's not the kind of course where you string together four birdie putts in a row, where you're just like 'hoop, hoop, hoop, hoop,'' Cink said. 'I had some putts out there that were 20-footers that had 8, 9 feet of break, and you're just not going to make that many of those.' Harrington made all four of his birdies on the (easier) front nine and was leading by one when he snapped his tee shot on the par-4 15th. The Irish man said his disappointment came from the fact that he thought his group conducted its 3-minute search in a thicket of trees that was well short of where the ball landed. His relief came from scraping out a bogey after heading back to the tee box and hitting that shot in deep rough on the right, then the approach from there to 20 feet. 'In general, you're just keeping yourself in position, which I did nicely today,' Harrington said. Also in good position was Hensby, though it was hard to tell in the aftermath of his bogey-bogey finish during the morning wave, both coming after errant drives into the rough. 'Obviously, I felt like I lost some out there,' Hensby said. 'It's just frustrating. I played like (expletive) the back nine. What else can you say?' He made seven birdies on the front nine to get to 6 under — a number that might not be approached again at a course that yielded only 17 rounds under par with 156 players in the field. When the tournament was last played here in 2018, David Toms won with a score of 3-under par — a number that made Hensby's score after nine that much more remarkable, whether he was happy with it or not. 'I've never been a very consistent player,' he said. 'I'm hot or cold, and that kind of sucks.' Harrington was one of many players whose practice was shortened Tuesday by a massive thunderstorm that soaked and softened the course. 'We got a break today, to be fair,' said Notah Begay, who made the field as an alternate and shot even par. Even with that break, the Day 1 scoring average was 73.94, only about .7 shots under the four-day total from 2018, when only seven players finished under par. Among those struggling was Angel Cabrera, a two-time senior major winner this year, who shot 73. Cabrera's 10-foot birdie try on No. 6 skirted the cup, and he dropped his putter and bent down an placed his hands on his knees, trying to figure out how he missed. A hole later, more pain when a 3-footer barely caught the left edge and rimmed out. The forecast for the next three days calls for highs near 90 and a chance of rain. The altitude and that mountain to the west of the course — that never changes. 'Not only is it hard to hit the ball at the right distance with the altitude and the ups and downs and the spins and all that,' Cink said. 'But you leave yourself a lot of 20-, 25-foot putts that have a lot of break and don't always do what they look like they're going to do.' Associated Press
The Advertiser
27-06-2025
- Sport
- The Advertiser
Aussie Hensby goes on birdie-blitz in US Senior Open
Mark Hensby and Padraig Harrington have both gone on a birdie-blitz to share the first-round lead at the US Senior Open. The Australian made seven birdies while Harrington made four on their way to three-under-par 67s at the Bradmoor on Thursday. Both had contrasting rounds. Hensby made seven birdies on the front nine before coming unstuck on the way home - closing with back-to-back bogeys - while for Harrington it was the miraculous bogey he saved after losing a tee shot deep in a thickest of trees on the 15th that helped him earn a share of the lead. Hensby spent the entire morning in the lead, though after he signed his scorecard he hardly looked like a player winning a senior golfing major. "Obviously, I felt like I lost some out there," he said. "It's just frustrating. I played like (expletive) the back nine. What else can you say?" Hensby finished with a pair of bogeys, each coming after drives that missed the fairway and landed in rough that is thick, but not Oakmont thick, and not the biggest problem at this course nestled at the base of Cheyenne Mountain. "There's so much slope, and it all comes off the mountain - most of the time," Hensby said. "Sometimes it doesn't. But the greens were softer today, so it kind of made it a little bit easier, and probably not as fast as they can get." Harrington, the 2022 US Senior champion, made all four birdies on the (easier) front nine and was leading by one when he snapped his tee shot on the par-4 15th deep into the woods. The Irishman took a cart back to the tee box for his third shot, then hit that into the right rough. His approach to 20 feet and the ensuing make limited the damage and he made three pars on the way in to stay atop the leaderboard. The leaders are one ahead of a group of six, including Stewart Cink, who hit the first 17 greens before making bogey after coming up short on No.18. It was, indeed, a calm, partly cloudy day less than 36 hours removed from a massive thunderstorm that soaked and softened the course. Even so, only 17 players finished under par with a few in the 156-man field still on the course as dusk approached. When the tournament was last played here in 2018, David Toms won with a score of 3-under par - a number that made Hensby's six under after nine that much more remarkable. But Hensby, who shot 63 in the second round of last year's US Open at Newport Country Club was more focused on the back nine. "I've never been a very consistent player," he said. "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." Fellow Australians Greg Chalmers and Rod Pampling finished even par, with Stuart Appleby, Richard Green, Steve Allan and Scott Hend a shot further back. Mark Hensby and Padraig Harrington have both gone on a birdie-blitz to share the first-round lead at the US Senior Open. The Australian made seven birdies while Harrington made four on their way to three-under-par 67s at the Bradmoor on Thursday. Both had contrasting rounds. Hensby made seven birdies on the front nine before coming unstuck on the way home - closing with back-to-back bogeys - while for Harrington it was the miraculous bogey he saved after losing a tee shot deep in a thickest of trees on the 15th that helped him earn a share of the lead. Hensby spent the entire morning in the lead, though after he signed his scorecard he hardly looked like a player winning a senior golfing major. "Obviously, I felt like I lost some out there," he said. "It's just frustrating. I played like (expletive) the back nine. What else can you say?" Hensby finished with a pair of bogeys, each coming after drives that missed the fairway and landed in rough that is thick, but not Oakmont thick, and not the biggest problem at this course nestled at the base of Cheyenne Mountain. "There's so much slope, and it all comes off the mountain - most of the time," Hensby said. "Sometimes it doesn't. But the greens were softer today, so it kind of made it a little bit easier, and probably not as fast as they can get." Harrington, the 2022 US Senior champion, made all four birdies on the (easier) front nine and was leading by one when he snapped his tee shot on the par-4 15th deep into the woods. The Irishman took a cart back to the tee box for his third shot, then hit that into the right rough. His approach to 20 feet and the ensuing make limited the damage and he made three pars on the way in to stay atop the leaderboard. The leaders are one ahead of a group of six, including Stewart Cink, who hit the first 17 greens before making bogey after coming up short on No.18. It was, indeed, a calm, partly cloudy day less than 36 hours removed from a massive thunderstorm that soaked and softened the course. Even so, only 17 players finished under par with a few in the 156-man field still on the course as dusk approached. When the tournament was last played here in 2018, David Toms won with a score of 3-under par - a number that made Hensby's six under after nine that much more remarkable. But Hensby, who shot 63 in the second round of last year's US Open at Newport Country Club was more focused on the back nine. "I've never been a very consistent player," he said. "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." Fellow Australians Greg Chalmers and Rod Pampling finished even par, with Stuart Appleby, Richard Green, Steve Allan and Scott Hend a shot further back. Mark Hensby and Padraig Harrington have both gone on a birdie-blitz to share the first-round lead at the US Senior Open. The Australian made seven birdies while Harrington made four on their way to three-under-par 67s at the Bradmoor on Thursday. Both had contrasting rounds. Hensby made seven birdies on the front nine before coming unstuck on the way home - closing with back-to-back bogeys - while for Harrington it was the miraculous bogey he saved after losing a tee shot deep in a thickest of trees on the 15th that helped him earn a share of the lead. Hensby spent the entire morning in the lead, though after he signed his scorecard he hardly looked like a player winning a senior golfing major. "Obviously, I felt like I lost some out there," he said. "It's just frustrating. I played like (expletive) the back nine. What else can you say?" Hensby finished with a pair of bogeys, each coming after drives that missed the fairway and landed in rough that is thick, but not Oakmont thick, and not the biggest problem at this course nestled at the base of Cheyenne Mountain. "There's so much slope, and it all comes off the mountain - most of the time," Hensby said. "Sometimes it doesn't. But the greens were softer today, so it kind of made it a little bit easier, and probably not as fast as they can get." Harrington, the 2022 US Senior champion, made all four birdies on the (easier) front nine and was leading by one when he snapped his tee shot on the par-4 15th deep into the woods. The Irishman took a cart back to the tee box for his third shot, then hit that into the right rough. His approach to 20 feet and the ensuing make limited the damage and he made three pars on the way in to stay atop the leaderboard. The leaders are one ahead of a group of six, including Stewart Cink, who hit the first 17 greens before making bogey after coming up short on No.18. It was, indeed, a calm, partly cloudy day less than 36 hours removed from a massive thunderstorm that soaked and softened the course. Even so, only 17 players finished under par with a few in the 156-man field still on the course as dusk approached. When the tournament was last played here in 2018, David Toms won with a score of 3-under par - a number that made Hensby's six under after nine that much more remarkable. But Hensby, who shot 63 in the second round of last year's US Open at Newport Country Club was more focused on the back nine. "I've never been a very consistent player," he said. "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." Fellow Australians Greg Chalmers and Rod Pampling finished even par, with Stuart Appleby, Richard Green, Steve Allan and Scott Hend a shot further back. Mark Hensby and Padraig Harrington have both gone on a birdie-blitz to share the first-round lead at the US Senior Open. The Australian made seven birdies while Harrington made four on their way to three-under-par 67s at the Bradmoor on Thursday. Both had contrasting rounds. Hensby made seven birdies on the front nine before coming unstuck on the way home - closing with back-to-back bogeys - while for Harrington it was the miraculous bogey he saved after losing a tee shot deep in a thickest of trees on the 15th that helped him earn a share of the lead. Hensby spent the entire morning in the lead, though after he signed his scorecard he hardly looked like a player winning a senior golfing major. "Obviously, I felt like I lost some out there," he said. "It's just frustrating. I played like (expletive) the back nine. What else can you say?" Hensby finished with a pair of bogeys, each coming after drives that missed the fairway and landed in rough that is thick, but not Oakmont thick, and not the biggest problem at this course nestled at the base of Cheyenne Mountain. "There's so much slope, and it all comes off the mountain - most of the time," Hensby said. "Sometimes it doesn't. But the greens were softer today, so it kind of made it a little bit easier, and probably not as fast as they can get." Harrington, the 2022 US Senior champion, made all four birdies on the (easier) front nine and was leading by one when he snapped his tee shot on the par-4 15th deep into the woods. The Irishman took a cart back to the tee box for his third shot, then hit that into the right rough. His approach to 20 feet and the ensuing make limited the damage and he made three pars on the way in to stay atop the leaderboard. The leaders are one ahead of a group of six, including Stewart Cink, who hit the first 17 greens before making bogey after coming up short on No.18. It was, indeed, a calm, partly cloudy day less than 36 hours removed from a massive thunderstorm that soaked and softened the course. Even so, only 17 players finished under par with a few in the 156-man field still on the course as dusk approached. When the tournament was last played here in 2018, David Toms won with a score of 3-under par - a number that made Hensby's six under after nine that much more remarkable. But Hensby, who shot 63 in the second round of last year's US Open at Newport Country Club was more focused on the back nine. "I've never been a very consistent player," he said. "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." Fellow Australians Greg Chalmers and Rod Pampling finished even par, with Stuart Appleby, Richard Green, Steve Allan and Scott Hend a shot further back.
