FRISCO, Texas – Padraig Harrington was in scoring position with a 54-hole lead and comfortably advanced into the Senior PGA Championship.
Instead, the 51-year-old Irishman ended up in a tight battle with Steve Stricker in a final round clash between the opposing Ryder Cup leaders from 2021.
Harrington swung for the first time in the tournament over the final three holes on Saturday, settling for a second straight 4-under 68, and taking a one-shot lead over Stricker, who equaled Harrington’s tournament-best 64 from the opening round.
Stuart Sink took the 191-yard par 13th hole in the premiere event at Fields Ranch East at the new headquarters of the American PGA in Texas, about 35 miles north of Dallas in Frisco.
He is three shots behind Harrington as the last of only three shots in six shots from the lead in a par-72 layout that is set to host the PGA Championship in 2027 and 2034 and possibly the Ryder Cup in the late 2030s.
Harrington was the only player left on the field without a bogey before a double bogey at the par 4 16 when he went into the original zone to the right of the green and needed two putts to get out.
What was a five-shot lead over Stricker dropped to one, and was gone shortly after when Stricker’s Bird 5 hit the 18th.
Harrington matched a birdie to regain the lead at 16-under, resulting in a long bunker putt inside 10 feet. He is looking to become the event’s first consecutive winner since Rocco Mediate in 2016.
Harrington had five birdies through 12 holes to reach 17-under, Sam Snead’s 50-year-old PGA record through 54 holes.
There was still something to celebrate in his set, as Harrington gave Cink a high jump after he was his play partner.
Cink sank his hole-in-one with a perfect 6-iron that bounced about 20 feet in front of the hole and rolled at almost the correct speed. He kissed his wife and caddy, Lisa, and gave the autographed ball to a fan.
Making his PGA Tour Champions debut less than a week after turning 50, Cink had to birdie from the original par on the next hole on the 14th but successfully parried himself. Two birdies and a bogey left him over the last four holes on the 67.
Stricker extended his record streak of champions from equal or better runs to 48 in a row with four birdies in every nine.
The 56-year-old Stricker, who has yet to finish outside the top eight in his first eight champions of the season, claimed a victory in his first major championship of the season. It was his second consecutive zonal tradition win.
Harrington, the 2008 domestic champion and two-time British Open winner, was on the verge of escaping through 50 holes and even got away with what seemed to be the first moment of a shift in momentum.
Right on the edge of the original area on the short 4 15, Harrington took several swings to see how tall grass would affect the shot, then finally put the ball inside 15 feet and just missed the birdie putt.
There was no escaping the problem at 16.
Harrington immediately knew his approach shot was up to no good, and took several strokes into the tall grass before attempting the first shot. The ball barely moved, and the second attempt was a high-arching shot that landed about 20 feet from the cup. Harrington missed the dirty shot.
Robert Carlson, Darren Clarke and Wai Young had a minus 9, better than defending PGA champ Stephen Alker, who shot a 69.