Latest news with #PádraigHarrington
Irish Times
10 hours ago
- Sport
- Irish Times
Pádraig Harrington holds share of the lead at US Senior Open
The two old golfing buddies relived their best days. Pádraig Harrington and Stewart Cink – both Claret Jug holders in their prime and with exemptions into the 153rd Open at Royal Portrush looming – went toe-to-toe in the second round of the US Senior Open and reached the midpoint at Colorado Springs at the foot of the Rockies locked together, inseparable. Harrington, a winner of the US Senior Open in 2022, shot a second round 67 and Cink a 66 for a 36-holes total of 134, six-under-par, three shots clear of Mark Hensby, and the duo – playing together – only completed their work minutes before a siren blared to suspend play due to lightning in the air. In his quest for a second US Senior title, the 53-year-old Dubliner holed a 20 footer for birdie on the ninth, his finishing hole, to join Cink in a share of the midway lead. Harrington started on the 10th and claimed birdies at the 10th, 12th, 13th and 17th with a sole bogey at the 15th to turn in 31 and added a birdie on the third to move into the outright lead only to drop shots at the fourth and seventh and then rejoin Cink in a share of the lead with a closing birdie. READ MORE US-based Ballymena native Chris Devlin, who came through the qualifying tournaments to earn a place in the field, rediscovered his putting touch. Having suffered a number of three putts in his opening round, Devlin bounced back with a 67 to add to his opening 75 for 142 to move inside the cut line. Leona Maguire and Jennifer Kupcho during the second round of the Dow Championship 2025 at Midland Country Club on Friday. Photograph:On the LPGA Tour, Leona Maguire – the headline act at next week's KPMG Irish Women's Open at Carton House – continued a strong partnership with American Jennifer Kupcho to move into the clubhouse lead at the halfway stage of the Dow Championship in Minnesota, where the duo shot a second round four-ball better-ball 60 for a 36-holes total of 13-under-par 127, two shots clear of American Sarah Schmeizel and Swiss player Albane Valenzuela. Maguire bounced back from four straight missed cuts on the LPGA Tour with a top-20 in last week's KPMG Women's PGA Championship and appears to have found some form headed into an important part of the season. Having opened with a 67 in the foursomes, Maguire and Kupcho moved into the lead with a 60 that saw the two complement each other. 'The plan today was just to give ourselves as many chances as we could, try to get two chances on every hole. For the most part, we did that. It was nice to start off with a birdie and sort of an eagle very early on to get the ball rolling. Jen made a nice birdie on 18 to sort of keep the momentum going through the turn. Overall, quite a fun day,' said Maguire. 'You're trying to hit a lot of fairways, a lot of greens, and just give yourself some good chances. Jen's a little bit longer off the tee than me, so trying to take advantage of her length where we can. Did that in foursomes well yesterday. Today was steady, there wasn't a lot of risk/reward to it with one being aggressive and one not. We tried to give ourselves two chances on every hole and it dovetailed pretty nicely. 'I think we executed pretty well yesterday. So more of the same (headed into the weekend). I mean, the game plan didn't change drastically today, so same as we did yesterday, a lot of fairways, a lot of greens. It was nice to see some putts go in today, so try to bring that into tomorrow as best we can.'
Irish Independent
10 hours ago
- Sport
- Irish Independent
Pádraig Harrington shares lead going into the weekend at US Senior Open
Pádraig Harrington brushed in a 15-footer at the last to share the early halfway lead with Stewart Cink but lamented a missed opportunity to streak clear of the field in the weather-affected US Senior Open in Colorado.
Irish Times
21 hours ago
- Sport
- Irish Times
Pádraig Harrington tied for the lead at US Senior Open
Pádraig Harrington shot a three-under-par 67 on Thursday to share the first-round lead in the US Senior Open at Broadmoor Golf Club in Colorado Springs. Harrington and Australian Mark 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 one-over-par. 'I was four 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. READ MORE '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 per cent like you would like to.' Harrington led the field in driving distance on Thursday and hit 15 of 18 greens in regulation. Darren Clarke is tied 33rd on one over, while Chris Devlin is five over The seven players who turned in rounds of two-under 68 were Bob Estes, Ken Tanigawa, Stewart Cink, Matt Gogel, Scotland's Stephen Gallacher, Sweden's Freddie Jacobson and Denmark's Thomas Bjorn. Spaniard Miguel Angel Jimenez – coming off a win at last week's Major, the Kaulig Companies Championship – opened with a one-under 69 and is tied for 10th. Angel Cabrera of Argentina, who won the first two senior Majors of the season, shot a three-over 73. Meanwhile, Leona Maguire is in a tie for second at the Dow Championship in Michigan on the LPGA Tour. Playing with American Jennifer Kupcho in a team event, they are one shot behind Gemma Dryburgh of Scotland and Cassie Porter of Australia. Kupcho and Maguire got past an early bogey and put four birdies on their card. 'Foursomes, it's always a game of patience,' Maguire said. 'Nice to hole quite a long [putt] on 16. Had a nice one on 3 to bounce back after the bogey on 2 to kind of get the round going.'
Irish Times
27-05-2025
- Sport
- Irish Times
‘I was doing handstands': Pádraig Harrington blames overconfidence for Senior PGA setback
Pádraig Harrington gets straight back to business after narrowly missing out on the US Senior PGA Championship, where Argentinian Angel Cabrera scooped his second seniors Major in back-to-back weeks. The Dubliner blamed overconfidence – which included a double-bogey on the 15th and a missed putt for par on the last – in his failure to get over the line at Congressional Country Club where he ultimately finished one shy of Cabrera. Harrington – who remains on the Champions Tour for this week's Principal Charity Classic in Des Moines, Idaho – was, as he put it, 'doing handstands' in the final round where he covered the opening 12 holes in seven under to move two shots clear, only for his late stumble which denied him a second seniors Major (he won the US Senior Open in 2022). 'It's always plagued me my whole life since I've been a kid. Just get over confident and just don't [commit fully],' explained Harrington of a hooked 5-wood tee shot to the 15th which lead to a costly double bogey and halted his momentum. READ MORE 'I'm much better off in with nerves and tension,' said Harrington, adding: 'If you start off with doubt, when you feel doubt over the ball it doesn't feel so bad. If you start off confident then you feel doubt it's like a blow-up. I was just too confident. It happens,' said Harrington, who won $264,00 for sharing runner-up with Thomas Bjorn. Rory McIlroy skips Memorial tournament on PGA Tour No Rory McIlroy this week at the Memorial tournament, the latest of the $20 million signature events on the PGA Tour. McIlroy has opted to skip the Jack Nicklaus-hosted tournament at Muirfield Village – where he has played 13 times, with a best finish of tied-fourth in 2016 – and, instead, will return to action at the RBC Canada Open next week ahead of the following week's US Open at Oakmont Country Club in Pittsburgh. Shane Lowry is the sole Irish player in the field at the Memorial, while Leona Maguire is the only Irish player in the field for the US Women's Open, the second Major of the year on the LPGA Tour, which takes place at Erin Hills in Wisconsin. Maguire is looking to bounce back from a missed cut in the Mexico Open. Conor Purcell – who finished tied-49th in the Soudal Open – is also the only Irish player in the field in this week's tour stop on the DP World Tour, the Austrian Open. Word of Mouth Ben Griffin at Colonial. Photograph: Raj Mehta/Getty 'It's crazy how fast things can change in this game. Even going back to when I didn't have any status on any sort of tours, getting on to the Korn Ferry Tour. I mean, it's a bunch of stepping stones that kind of gets you to the next part of your career. Now I'm at the point where I feel like I'm starting to show that I am an elite golfer. I can compete against the best' – Ben Griffin , now a multiple winner on the PGA Tour, on turning his career around. By the Numbers: 8 There are no fewer than eight players in the field for this week's US Women's Open at Erin Hills who share the same Lee surname: Australian Minjee Lee and Americans Andrea, Jude and Sophia Lee along with four South Koreans further complicated by that fact that two of them also have the same first names. Mi Hyang Lee and Ihee Lee form the quartet of Koreans along with Jeougeun Lee5 and Jeougeun Lee6, the addition of the numbers at the end of their respective surnames differentiating the two players. On this day ... May 27th, 1979 Tom Watson in 1979. Photograph: Getty Tom Watson donned winter wooly headgear and dressed as if for an Arctic expedition in battling his way to victory in the Memorial tournament at Muirfield Village in Dublin, Ohio, for his 17th career win on the PGA Tour. A cold front hung around the area through the tournament at Jack Nicklaus's signature design course, to the point that even the Golden Bear himself figured conditions to be 'impossible' with greens reading over 17 on the stimpmeter. 'It got out of control,' admitted tournament host Nicklaus. The 36-hole cut fell at 13-over-par and, when the time came for the handing over of the trophy some Sunday, only one man – Watson – was under par. Watson defied the conditions with rounds of 73-69-71-71 for a three-under-par winning total of 285. That second round 69 was considered one of the best bad weather rounds ever played on the PGA Tour, on a day where the field averaged 78.7 and 42 of the 105 starters shot 80 or worse. 'I got out to a good start, and held on for dear life,' said Watson. Social Swing Unfortunately after failing on Monday by one shot, looks like my run of 25 consecutive US Open Championships might come to an end this year, unless a little miracle happens. Very proud of this amazing run that I had at this great Major! – Sergio Garcia now relying on a special invite from the USGA if he is to make it to the US Open at Oakmont. Good morning everyone – former mortgage broker Ben Griffin on completing his second win of the season on the PGA Tour in adding the Charles Schwab Challenge to the Zurich Classic, his second win in five starts. Course record First win on Tour Sundays don't get much better @KristofferR_98 – the DP World Tour's social media salutes Norwegian Kristoffer Reitan 's win at the Soudal Open in Belgium, his breakthrough win on the European circuit. Know the Rules Q: In stroke play, a player has interference to their stance from an immovable obstruction. They determine their nearest point of complete relief using a five iron (as that is the club he would have used had the immovable obstruction not been there) and drop the ball within one club-length of that point, no nearer the hole. The ball settles down in the rough, so the player changes club and plays the ball out on to the fairway with a sand wedge. What is the ruling? A: There is no penalty. Once the ball is dropped, it is back in play. The player must then decide what type of stroke they will make. This stroke, which includes the choice of club, may be different from the one that would have been made from the ball's original spot had the condition not been there. (Clarification Nearest Point of Complete Relief/4). In the Bag Ben Griffin – Charles Schwab Challenge Driver: Ping G430 Max 10K (9 degrees) 3-wood: TaylorMade Qi35 (15 degrees) Irons: Mizuno JPX 923 (3) , Mizuno Pro S3 (4-PW) Wedges: Mizuno Pro T1 (50 and 56 degrees) , TaylorMade MG4 (60 degrees) Putter: Scotty Cameron Concept 2 Tour Prototype Ball: Maxfli Tour X
Irish Independent
25-05-2025
- Sport
- Irish Independent
‘There's a lot of people in play' – Pádraig Harrington hopeful as he chases Senior PGA glory at Congressional
Pádraig Harrington hopes to regain his driving mojo as he heads into the final round of the Senior PGA Championship just two shots off the lead. The Dubliner (53) followed a double bogey at the 17th with a birdie at the last to card a one-over 73 in Saturday's third round at Congressional Country Club. It left him tied for seventh, but he's hopeful about his chances as he trails leaders Retief Goosen, Angel Cabrera, Jason Caron and Philip Archer by just two strokes on three-under. "Obviously, it's tough enough conditions," Harrington said after a rollercoaster round featuring five birdies, four bogeys and that double-bogey at the 17th. "I'm happy to be two shots back. I felt it could be worse. I made a few nice birdies at times out there. "Wasn't great off the tee, wasn't great with my putting. It kind of left me on edge most of the day. "I certainly could have finished a little stronger. But being only two shots back, there's a lot of people in play, but at least I'm within two of the lead. "Hopefully tomorrow I drive it like I drove it the first day, which was great, and hole a few putts. Goosen shot 68, Cabrera 70 and Caron and Archer a brace of 70s to lead by a shot on five-under from Lee Westwood and Stewart Cink as Darren Clarke's 76 left him joint 23rd on one-over. Meanwhile, Portmarnock's Conor Purcell is chasing his first top 10 on the DP World Tour after a one-under 70 left him tied for 22nd heading into the final round of the Soudal Open in Belgium. The Dubliner (27) is just two shots outside the top 10 on four-under, nine shots behind Scotland's Ewen Ferguson, who shot 69 to lead by two strokes from England's John Parry at Rinkven International in Antwerp. ADVERTISEMENT Learn more On the PGA Tour, world number one Scottie Scheffler is lurking just six shots behind Ben Griffin and Germany's Matti Schmid heading into the final round of the Charles Schwab Challenge in Texas. Chasing his third win in as many starts, the Texan was left to rue three back-nine bogeys as he made an eagle and seven birdies in a six-under 64 to move to tied seventh on seven-under. "You are always going to hope to go play a perfect round; it basically never happens," said Scheffler, who was seven under after 11 holes before he bogeyed the 12th and 13th and followed birdies at the 16th and 17th with a bogey at the last. "Three bogeys definitely hurts, especially when you are trying to chase, but overall, I did some good things today. I'm definitely going to need to do more of the same tomorrow." Griffin and Schmidt shot 68s to lead by four shots from Rickie Fowler (67) on 13-under with Robert MacIntyre, Nick Hardy and Akshay Bhatia a shot further back. On the HotelPlanner Tour's Danish Golf Challenge, Galway's Liam Nolan roared to nine-under for his round through 16 holes before two closing bogeys forced him to settle for a seven-under 65 at Bogense Golf Club. The Bearna golfer goes into the final round tied for third on 12-under par, just five shots behind Scotland's Calum Fyfe. The top 20 in the Road to Mallorca rankings earn promotion to the main tour and Nolan (25) lies 15th with the meat of the season to come. Meanwhile, Elm Park's Anna Foster (23) continued her excellent rookie season when she tied for 17th behind Sára Kousková in the LET's Jabra Ladies Open. The Dubliner closed with a two-under 69 at Evian Resort to finish eight shots behind the Czech star on two-under. Annabel Wilson tied for 54th on seven-over after a closing 74.
