Harrington, Cink and Hensby all ‘pitch in’ to share U.S. Senior Open lead heading into final round at Broadmoor; ex-Aspen resident Justin Leonard climbs into top 15; Jobe also picks up ground
By Gary Baines – 6/28/2025
COLORADO SPRINGS — The 54-hole leaders at the U.S. Senior Open at The Broadmoor look a lot like the 36-hole leaders.
Make that exactly alike.
But don’t get the impression that little happened during Saturday’s third round. Indeed, things went up, down and all around.
Irishman and World Golf Hall of Famer Padraig Harrington, 2009 British Open champ Stewart Cink from the U.S., and Australian Mark Hensby remain tied after 54 holes, just as they were after 36. But Saturday featured, among many other things, pitch-ins for birdies by all three players, with arguably the most notable — because it came last — coming from Harrington, who chipped in from in front of the 18th green — the hole-out measuring about 100 feet in all.
The crowd around 18 erupted, not surprisingly. Harrington called his ball going in “a big bonus.”
“They run a really good event, the USGA,” Harrington said. “They run a really good senior major, and the crowds that have turned out are just excellent. The fields, there’s a buzz out there; there’s a great atmosphere.
“It was special to hole out on the 18th with everybody watching, the anticipation. It was very exciting and very nice that I didn’t have to hit another shot.”
The three leaders matched 2-under-par 68s and stand at 8 under par overall. For reference sake, the lowest winning score in the two previous U.S. Senior Opens held at The Broadmoor was Eduardo Romero’s 6 under in 2008.
The only other player within three shots of the lead is Dane Thomas Bjorn, whose 4-under 66 matched the lowest round of the championship. He’ll go into Sunday a shot behind the leaders. American Steve Flesch (67 Saturday, 4 under overall) trails by four. And among those at 3 under par is Spaniard Miguel Angel Jiménez, a four-time winner on PGA Tour Champions in the first six months of the year. Jiménez eagled the par-3 third on Saturday, but bogeyed his final two holes of the day.
“Today I finished with a few birdies (five) but too many bogeys (five). It’s no good,” said Jiménez, who finished runner-up in the 2018 Senior Open at The Broadmoor.
Mark Hensby continues to keep pace with Harrington and Cink.
But Harrington, Cink and Hensby have a leg up going into Sunday, when they’ll all be paired together again, though this time they’ll be teeing it up at 8:50 a.m. (SUNDAY TEE TIMES) due to the potential of threatening weather. It’ll be the fourth straight round Cink and Harrington have been paired this week — a big-time rarity.
“I don’t think it’s ever happened” to me, Harrington said. “If there was ever going to be somebody I would like be paired with, it is Stewart Cink, that’s for sure. And Mark added a lot to the group today. There seemed to be great momentum in the group at all times. It was a very relaxed, happy group.
“Obviously it’s a Saturday. Things might be a little tighter tomorrow afternoon, but certainly today was a very pleasant day.”
For example, Cink chipped in (cross-handed) on No. 6, while Hensby curled in a pitch from about 50 feet on No. 13.
“We had it going” collectively, Cink said. “We were confused about whose tee it was after the little (32-minute lightning) delay because we’d all made so many birdies. We’d forgotten who made birdies on what holes. That was a good thing.
“Unfortunately, it didn’t last more than another two holes after that because the back nine played more difficult (and it got windy for a time), but it was also a little scrappier.”
Cink finished the day with four birdies and two bogeys, while Harrington carded five birdies, a bogey and a double bogey. Hensby, who has been up and down all week, posted an eagle on No. 9, four birdies and four bogeys. The Australian leads the field in putting this week, along with Jiménez.
“Any time you play with two great players like that, it’s definitely fun,” said Hensby, who will celebrate his 54th birthday on Sunday. “It’s fun playing with those two guys. They’re just such great players. Obviously Padraig winning three major championships in his career (plus the 2022 U.S. Senior Open), and Stewart Cink (claiming a British Open). It’s awesome, no doubt.”
Between the challenging course and the major championship atmosphere, count Cink among those having fun being in contention.
“It feels like a really big tournament,” he said. “I love the energy in the crowd. It’s a really sporty golf course, and we’re having fun out there.
“The course does have this little rhythm to it where the first three holes are kind of gettable and it gives you the opportunity, and then there’s some difficult greens, and then there’s some fairly simple holes, and then there’s some really just difficult, pretty brutal holes actually on the back nine. It’s just got a really neat flow to it. The course doesn’t ever just stay in one lane. It kind of is all over the place.”
Harrington is smiling too, having a share of the lead. On Saturday, he did things like driving the green on the par-4 second hole and chipping in on 18.
“That’s why we play the game at this age of our life,” he said. “We still like the idea of competing and hitting great shots. In some ways, when you’re playing out here on the seniors, you’re reliving your past glories, and you hit some great shots that you once hit as a junior, and it feels good. We do hit a few of the other ones too. But the whole thing of playing out here is for that thrill again.”
Justin Leonard made up a lot of ground on Saturday.
— Leonard Finishes Strong to Make Up Ground; Jobe Climbs Too Despite Late Bogeys: For a guy who was in danger of missing the cut with 10 holes left in round 2, former Aspen resident Justin Leonard certainly is sitting pretty at the U.S. Senior Open.
He won’t win it, but after rallying from another slow start on Saturday, he shares 14th place going into the final round. Considering 14th is the best he’s ever finished in a U.S. Senior Open, that’s not half bad.
“Look, I was outside the cut line for a while yesterday and was able to rally and get back inside of it,” said Leonard, the 1997 British Open champ who lived in Aspen from 2015-22 before moving to Florida. “I’m pleased with the way I played today. I’m not surprised, but pleased.”
After being 3 over par through four holes on day 3 — starting on the back nine — Leonard played his final 14 holes in 5 under. It all added up to a 2-under-par 68, and he stands at 1 over par for the tournament. Not bad considering Leonard calls the greens at The Broadmoor “diabolical.”
“Today I lost track of my score; that’s really the goal,” he said. “There’s no reason to watch a leaderboard or anything tomorrow. So I’m just going to go out and build on today to put another solid round in and see where it puts me at the end of the week.”
Also tied for 14th place after three days is Matt Gogel, who was born in Denver, but has far greater ties to nearby states, having grown up in Tulsa, attended the University of Kansas and being a member of the Kansas Golf Hall of Fame. Gogel has gone 68-73-70 this week after originally being an alternate.
Brandt Jobe made a long birdie putt on his first hole on Saturday.
Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Brandt Jobe appeared destined to replicate Leonard’s big rally late on Saturday. To that end, he birdied four of five holes in the middle of his round. But he bogeyed his last two to have to settle for a 1-under-par 69. That left him at 4 over for the tournament and in 29th place.
“In my mind, I was trying to figure out how can I get it to under par for the week?” Jobe said. “That would be a goal. That would be a solid week for me. Obviously I kind of threw up on myself there coming in, but you know what, you start tomorrow and go out there and just see how low you can shoot.
“(The train) hasn’t been on the tracks yet. I’m struggling with the way my body is working (after) three hip surgeries in the last (three) years. It’s like I turn and it doesn’t want to turn back. So I hit one right and one left. There’s not a lot to consistency to it. I’ve been fighting it all year long.
“It’s like today. I have a good, solid round where I was (3 under for the day) and I hit the worst shot in the world on 8 — honestly. You can’t hit it that bad. It went short in the front bunker. I like missed it. I know the shot I want to hit. ‘Come on, body, do it.’ It doesn’t and I make bogey. Then on No. 9 I have 6-iron in (on a par-5) and I make 6. I chunk hooked it left and had no shot. Then I missed it from a foot and a half.”
Jobe finished fifth the last time the U.S. Senior Open was held at The Broadmoor — in 2018 — and third in the event the year before. This time, the former Colorado Open champion is still trying to get a handle on The Broadmoor’s challenging putting surfaces.
“I forgot how severe some of the greens are,” he said. “I feel like I’m at Hiwan (Golf Club, longtime site of the Colorado Open) again. You’re sitting there thinking, ‘How in the world am I going to 2-putt this?’”
Shane Bertsch stares down his tee shot on a par-3 Saturday.
Speaking of which, another former Colorado Open champion, Shane Bertsch of Parker, shot a 72 on Saturday, which put him in 38th place at 5 over par. Bertsch’s best finish ever in a U.S. Senior Open is 23rd place in 2021.
How players with strong Colorado ties have fared in this week’s U.S. Senior Open:
14. Former Aspen resident Justin Leonard 72-71-68—211
29. Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Brandt Jobe 73-72-69–214
38. Shane Bertsch of Parker 69-74-72–215
Missed 36-Hole Cut
72. Chris DiMarco of Denver 71-76—147
117. Former CSU golfer Darrin Overson 80-73–157
129. Matt Schalk of Erie 76-79—155
For all of the scores from the U.S. Senior Open, CLICK HERE.
— Andrade’s Under Par Despite Back Issues: Billy Andrade is in the top 10 going into the final round — at 2 under par — but he did it despite wincing in pain at times due to back issues that flared up mid-round on Saturday.
“On (hole) 14 I took the club back and had to stop because it was like somebody stuck a knife in there,” he said.
But Andrade gutted it out and played his last five holes in 1 under par for a 70, leaving him at 2 under overall and in ninth place.
“I’ve had facet joint issues before, and when it spasms — it comes and goes,” he said. “When the facet joint gets inflamed, it’s hard to calm it down. … I just fought hard. Overall I’m very happy with the way it turned out.”
Joakim Haeggman goes low to line up a putt.
— Tiff Over Lost-Ball Search: Padraig Harrington and NBC on-course reporter Roger Maltbie — a longtime former PGA Tour player himself — had a rather animated discussion after Friday’s round that drew some significant attention on social media after a video was shared by Colorado Springs TV reporter Brett Forrest. According to reports, Harrington reportedly wasn’t happy that Maltbie didn’t help find a lost ball during round 1. “Never on a golf course stand and look at somebody looking for a golf ball,” Harrington said on the video, according to Golf Digest. Asked about the situation during Saturday’s NBC telecast, Maltbie said, “Much ado about nothing — straightening out a situation from Thursday. We’ll go on doing our jobs.”
— Notable: After the field was cut to the low 60 players and ties, the scoring average for Saturday was 71.56, roughly 2.4 shots lower than for the first two days. … NBC is providing its U.S. Senior Open telecast commercial-free this weekend, though with USGA-related segments. Sunday’s final-round coverage will air from noon to 4 p.m. — despite tee times being moved up two hours for day 4. … Ernie Els hit the green on the par-5 ninth hole in two on Saturday, then promptly putted off the green. After chipping back on, he sunk a putt for a not-so-routine par. … Notah Begay made a quaduple-bogey 9 on the third hole, then a birdie 2 on the fourth en route to the now-TV analyst shooting 77 on Saturday. … The winner of the U.S. Senior Open on Sunday will receive $800,000 out of a total purse of $4 million. The 74 pros who missed Friday’s 36-hole cut each receive $4,000, including Coloradans Matt Schalk and Chris DiMarco.
A green at The Broadmoor is watered to keep putting speeds manageable.
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U.S. Senior Open: The Essentials
What: 45th U.S. Senior Open.
When: Championship rounds June 26-29.
Where: East Course at The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs. 7,247 yards, par-70.
Hole By Hole Set-Up:
Hole 1: 429 yards (Par 4)
Hole 2: 339 yards (Par 4)
Hole 3: 601 yards (Par 5)
Hole 4: 165 yards (Par 3)
Hole 5: 433 yards (Par 4)
Hole 6: 402 yards (Par 4)
Hole 7: 426 yards (Par 4)
Hole 8: 178 yards (Par 3)
Hole 9: 535 yards (Par 5)
OUT: 3,508 yards (Par 36)
Hole 10: 501 yards (Par 4)
Hole 11: 478 yards (Par 4)
Hole 12: 223 yards (Par 3)
Hole 13: 493 yards (Par 4)
Hole 14: 427 yards (Par 4)
Hole 15: 459 yards (Par 4)
Hole 16: 180 yards (Par 3)
Hole 17: 545 yards (Par 4)
Hole 18: 433 yards (Par 4)
IN: 3,739 yards (Par 34)
TOTAL: 7,247 yards (Par 70)
Field Size: 156 players, all age 50 as of June 26.
Cut: After 36 holes, the field was cut to the low 60 scorers and ties.
Potential Playoff: Two-hole aggregate.
TV Broadcast (All times MT):
Sunday: NBC, noon-4 p.m.
Purse: $4 million, with $800,000 going to the winner.
Ticket Info: Kids 17 and under will be admitted free to the U.S. Senior Open when accompanied by a ticketed adult. For U.S. Senior Open ticket information and packages, CLICK HERE.
(NOTE: Some of the previously published stories related to the 2025 U.S. Senior Open:
— Matt Schalk of Erie a U.S. Senior Open qualifying medalist for 2nd straight year; Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Brandt Jobe, Denver resident Chris DiMarco, former CSU golfer Darrin Overson and Utahn Steve Schneiter also headed to USSO at The Broadmoor
— As U.S. Senior Open approaches, The Broadmoor is set to once again present one of the toughest tests in senior golf
— Ranking of the previous 8 USGA championships held at The Broadmoor
— U.S. Senior Open record book brimming with Colorado-related superlatives
— Fully exempt players for 2025 U.S. Senior Open
— Highlights of the three previous times Colorado has hosted the U.S. Senior Open
— Hale Irwin named honorary chair for 2025 Senior Open
— Senior Open going to a 2-stage qualifying process in 2025)
About the Writer: Gary Baines has covered golf in Colorado continuously since 1983. He was a sports writer at the Daily Camera newspaper in Boulder, then the sports editor there, and has written regularly for ColoradoGolf.org since 2009. The University of Colorado Evans Scholar alum was inducted into the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame in 2022. He owns and operates ColoradoGolfJournal.com