Harrington edges Stricker to win U.S. Senior Open
Padraig BETHLEHEM, PA. — Harrington knew the U.S. Senior Open was in his hands Sunday with a fiveshot lead. Part of him hoped for an easy day, a chance to wave to the gallery and maybe even show off with some aggressive play that wouldn’t cost him.
He got the win. It was a lot harder than he wanted.
Harrington went from a six-shot lead at the turn to holding off Steve Stricker, and he delivered with a 30-foot birdie putt and three tough lag putts for par to capture his first senior win.
“It’s tough to lead from the front,” Harrington said. “It’s even tougher when it’s Steve Stricker behind you. He tends to have one on me. I’m happy enough to get it done in the end.”
Harrington, who never lost the lead at Saucon Valley, closed with a 1-over 72 and became the third straight U.S. Senior Open champion to win in his debut.
Stricker, who started eight shots behind, began making his run with consecutive birdies to finish the front nine, and he closed with two straight birdies for a 65.
That left him one shot behind, and the Irishman needed only pars to win for the first time on the PGA Tour Champions. Harrington finished at 10-under 274.
“After I made birdie at 14 I heard someone say, ‘Well, we’ve got a game now,’ or something like that. I had a feeling I was getting close,” Stricker said. “And I was just trying to birdie as many as I could.”
Mark Hensby had a 69 to finish alone in third.
Stricker, however, was the only one who had a chance to catch Harrington.
Stricker missed good birdie chances on the 15th and 16th holes, but he stuffed his shot on the 17th to a foot, and then took on a back-right pin at the closing hole to 5 feet away.
Harrington began the back nine with consecutive bogeys, and then he missed a good birdie chance on the par-5 12th. Before Stricker could make his final birdie, Harrington made his 30-footer to be assured of staying in front, and his lag putting was superb when it needed to be.
Stricker got the best of Harrington without hitting a shot last September at Whistling Straights, when he led a U.S. team to a rout over Harrington’s European squad in the Ryder Cup. That was not lost on Harrington.
“It would have to be Steve Stricker chasing me down. ‘Steve, give me a break, please.’ Yeah, Steve’s a tough competitor,” Harrington said. “Certainly he seems to have one on me over the years. So it’s nice to get one back on him this time.”