By Todd Kelly – Golfweek.com
A three-way tie for the 54-hole lead became a three-horse race Sunday at the 2025 U.S. Senior Open. It just wasn’t the same three golfers. In the end, it was Padraig Harrington winning the event for a second time in front large galleries at the Broadmoor’s East Course in Colorado Springs.
Harrington, Stewart Cink and Mark Hensby were all at 8 under after three rounds at the fourth of five majors on the PGA Tour Champions. Late in the back nine Sunday, Cink and Harrington were joined in the pursuit by Miguel Angel Jimenez, where they moved up final round tee times by two hours because of inclement weather expected Sunday afternoon.
Harrington made birdies on three of his first five holes. He later answered bogeys on 7 and 10 with birdies on 9 and 11.
Meanwhile, Cink poured in four straight birdies on Nos. 2, 3, 4 and 5 to get to 11 under but a bogey on the 11th dropped him to 10 under, a shot back of Harrington, as the duo traded the lead five times on the front nine.
Jimenez made things interesting after he went 6 under through his first 14 holes to get 9 under. Jimenez already has one major win, the Kaulig Companies Championship, this season, and made another birdie on No. 16 to get to double digits under par.Need a break? Play the USA TODAY Daily Crossword Puzzle
While Jimenez was the first to post a score, signing for a final-round 64 to get to 9 under, he did take a bogey on the last hole with Cink was at 10 under and Harrington at 11 under at that time. Moments later, Cink missed a chance to tie for the lead, pushing a six-footer to the right, so he stayed at 10 under with a hole to go.
On 18, Harrington, with a one-shot lead, stuffed his approach to give him a birdie look. Cink then hit wedge into the green and after initially looking to be just outside Harrington’s ball, it spun away from the hole.
Cink would putt first, from about 30 feet away and he left it a foot outside. After Hensby putted, Harrington needed just two putts from eight feet for the win and he did just that, finally tapping in for his second U.S. Senior Open.
“As Stewart said himself, I think we played the most in terms of anybody else,” Harrington said on the NBC broadcast shortly after winning. “Obviously in 2007 I played with Stewart when I won my first major. Yeah, he’s very comfortable to play with. We have very similar games. Very easygoing. I would say for 63 holes we talked a lot and for the last nine holes things were a little quieter. It was always in good spirit. Mark Hensby was excellent as well. So those are the breaks you need when you’re out there winning.”
Cink admitted that while he came up short, he had a good time Sunday.
“It was a lot of fun. It’s always way more fun to be on the 18th green right now than in the media center. It was still a lot of fun,” he said. “I was proud of myself. 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.”
U.S. Senior Open leaderboard
- Padraig Harrington, 11 under
- Stewart Cink, 10 under
- Miguel Angel Jimenez, 9 under
- Thomas Bjorn, 5 under
- Mark Hensby, 5 under
- Steve Flesch, 4 under
- Steven Alker, 3 under
- Paul Stankowski, 2 under
- Jason Caron, 1 under
- Tim Petrovic, 1 under
- Cameron Percy, 1 under
- Dicky Pride, 1 under
Those were the 12 golfers who finished in red numbers for the week. Harrington and Cink were the only two golfers to shoot in the 60s all four rounds.
What Padraig Harrington gets for winning 2025 U.S. Oen
- $800,000 first-place check
- Possession of Francis D. Ouimet Memorial Trophy for one year
- Gold medal
- 10-year exemption into U.S. Senior Open
- Exemption into 2026 U.S. Open, which will be played at Shinnecock Hills
