|
Padraig Harrington |
-16 |
67 |
|
Justin Leonard |
-13 |
68 |
|
Thomas Bjorn |
-13 |
67 |
|
Scott Hend |
-12 |
65 |
|
Ernie Els |
-11 |
66 |
|
Cameron Percy |
-11 |
65 |
Padraig Harrington wrote his name into history as he became the fifth player to win both The Open and ISPS HANDA Senior Open, winning his second senior major title of the season at Sunningdale.
The Irishman, who secured his second US Senior Open title last month, finished three strokes ahead of fellow former Ryder Cup captain Thomas Bjørn and 1997 Champion Golfer of the Year Justin Leonard to claim his third senior major victory.
Harrington, who won The Open in 2007 and defended the Championship in 2008, joins Bob Charles, Darren Clarke, Gary Player and Tom Watson as the only men in history to have won both the Claret Jug and Senior Open Trophy.
The 53-year-old started the day with a two-stroke lead over Leonard, which he immediately increased to three after an eagle at the first on the Old Course at Sunningdale.
Further gains at the sixth and ninth holes saw his lead extend to four strokes after the turn, but Bjørn moved to within two after a run of four birdies in six holes from the ninth.
The Dane’s momentum was halted by a bogey at the 16th and, despite dropping a shot of his own on the 17th, Harrington held a three-stroke lead on the 18th tee.
Playing partner Leonard also tried to apply pressure but ultimately signed for a two under par round of 68 and a 13-under par total.
Harrington hit his approach safely on the 18th green and had two putts for par for a three under par 67, a 16-under par total and his 11th victory since joining the over-50s ranks.
After winning the Senior Open, Harrington said:
“Right now I’m just thrilled to have won the tournament and gone out there and played well. I think, yeah, that will seep in. I know you were talking about how I won The Open, to win the Senior Open, there’s only five players, so you want to be in that category. I think they are the sort of things that you realise over the next couple of days, the significance of it. I’m thrilled, euphoric, that I’ve gotten it done.
“As you get older, you realise a lot of things is legacy and what you’ve done and you want to win on a great golf course like Sunningdale. You want to do things that stand out, and having won a real Open, coming out, winning the Senior Open, it does give some — it adds a validation. It’s certainly satisfying to do it, to extent your career that way.
“There are some great names on the trophy. I was watching it coming out last night. I was looking up inside at the board that has all the winners. It’s a deep sense of satisfaction. I’m kind of on a high of winning, but then there will be that deep sense of satisfaction knowing that you’ve done both.
“And especially you come to this stage, there’s only a certain window. You know, you can win later on as a senior but the window, they say, sort of up to about 55, 56, so you want to get it done. And having had a couple of second places, I didn’t want to leave it too long. It would start becoming a problem if you don’t win it too soon, and I’m glad I got mine.”
Australian Scott Hend finished the week in fourth place on 12-under par, while Ernie Els and Cameron Percy shared fifth on 11-under par.
ISPS HANDA, in collaboration with The R&A, pledged to donate $750 for every birdie made on the 13th hole at Sunningdale’s Old Course to support life-changing initiatives in Cambodia. Ahead of the final round, that commitment was raised to $2,000 per birdie.
A total of 49 birdies were made through the four tournament days, resulting in $48,000 of fundraising, with a further $2,000 added to round up the total amount raised to $50,000.
