A couple of years ago, Padraig Harrington (-16), winner of two editions of the Open Championship, came close to winning the senior edition of the British Open. He fell on the second playoff hole to Alex Cejka. But this Sunday, at the Old Course of the Sunningdale Golf Club in Berkshire, the Irishman redeemed himself by winning the tournament in style and enhancing his legend in the majors.
The 53-year-old golfer from Dublin won by three strokes at the ISPS Handa Senior Open, reaching eleven victories on the PGA Tour Champions and equalling in his senior stage the number of Majors he had achieved before turning fifty. He won two Open Championships in 2007 and 2008, and a PGA Championship in 2008, and now adds two US Senior Opens in 2022 and 2025, and this British Senior Open where he was very dominant.
Eagle at the first for @padraig_h 💪
His leads extends to three.#SeniorOpen pic.twitter.com/nmiXHFUiAF
— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) July 27, 2025
Harrington started the week high on the leaderboard, with a round of 67 strokes on Thursday. But it was from Friday, with 65 strokes, the same score he signed on ‘moving day’, when he took the lead over Justin Leonard (-13) and Thomas Bjorn (-13), who fought until the end. This Sunday, starting the final round with an eagle to widen the gap, he was able to play all day with the calculator in hand to avoid mistakes until securing the title.
Some @padraig_h magic on the 14th hole 🪄#SeniorOpen
— Legends Tour (@euLegendsTour) July 27, 2025
In the end, Padraig sealed his first Senior Open with a round of 67 strokes with an eagle, three birdies, and two bogeys, showing himself infallible at key moments, such as the birdie putt he holed on the 9th hole to face the second half of the course with a four-stroke lead, or his recovery from off the green on the 14th to put the tournament beyond doubt. A great triumph for a player with an impressive history of titles, with 12 victories on the European circuit, three in the US, three majors, 11 wins on the Champions Tour including three majors, and a long list of trophies in minor tours, becoming the fifth golfer to win both the Open Championship and the Senior Open (alongside Gary Player, Bob Charles, Tom Watson, and Darren Clarke).
For Miguel Ángel Jiménez (-3), the only one of the six Spaniards who played in this ISPS Handa Senior Open to make the cut on Friday, Sunday meant his third consecutive card of 70 strokes, level with the course, dropping a couple more positions to the final tied 24th place. The Malagueño couldn’t keep up with the birdie and accuracy pace of Harrington, Leonard, Bjorn, and company this time and ended up gradually falling in the rankings, practically without options from the second day.
