Padraig Harrington wins third US Senior Open, equalling Miller Barber's record

Pádraig Harrington won the US Senior Open for a record-equalling third time, closing with a four-under 66 at Scioto Country Club in Columbus, Ohio. The 54-year-old Dubliner, who turns 55 next month, finished at 12 under par, four strokes clear of overnight leader Stewart Cink. The victory earned him $800,000 and a place in next year's US Open at Pebble Beach.

Final round surge

Harrington began the day one shot behind Cink but birdied the first two holes to seize control. Cink bogeyed the second and third, and Harrington added birdies at the sixth and eighth to turn four ahead. A birdie at the 11th extended the lead to five, and he parred the last six holes to wrap up the win. It was his second consecutive 66 of the weekend.

It's very rare for me to win a tournament where it is actually boring coming down the stretch, normally there is some drama but there wasn't much excitement today, which is nice for me.

Harrington had said earlier that the pressure of being defending champion lifted once Cink took the lead. "I think that feeling is gone now, as in Stewart is leading the tournament. It's on his shoulders. He's the one with the lead. I'm now chasing, so I don't have that feeling at all," he said.

Record-equalling achievement

The victory makes Harrington only the second player after Miller Barber (1985) to win the US Senior Open three times. He also becomes the fourth to win back-to-back titles, joining Barber, Gary Player and Allen Doyle. Harrington's previous wins came in 2022 and 2025, and he added the Senior Open Championship last year for his fourth senior major. The win was his 12th on the PGA Tour Champions.

Other contenders

Cink, who was seeking to become the first player since Jack Nicklaus in 1991 to win the first three senior majors of the year, shot a final-round 71 to finish second at eight under. He had four victories in nine PGA Tour Champions starts this year, including the Senior PGA Championship and the Regions Tradition. George McNeill was third at six under, while Ian Poulter shot 67 to take fourth on his senior debut. Darren Clarke tied for eighth at three under after a triple-bogey seven at the eighth, and Chris Devlin improved on last year's 55th-place finish with a tie for 17th at level par.

I'm going to have my hands full with him and all these other guys tomorrow, but mostly with Scioto and myself.

What's next

The win earned Harrington a spot in the 2027 US Open at Pebble Beach. He will skip the Seniors Players and head to Scotland for the Genesis Scottish Open to prepare for The Open at Royal Birkdale, where he won his second Claret Jug in 2008. He then defends his Senior Open title at Gleneagles before finishing a run of eight consecutive events at the Portugal Invitational.