Harrington holds Senior Open lead heading into final round after another 65

The Journal

3 days ago

The 42
IRELAND'S PÁDRAIG HARRINGTON continues to lead the Senior Open after a second consecutive 65 to leave him on 13-under at Sunningdale Old Course in Berkshire.
The 53-year-old took a one-shot lead into
the third round
and heads into the final round two shots clear of American Justin Leonard on 11-under. Denmark's Thomas Bjorn is just behind on 10-under.
View the leaderboard here
Harrington
won the US Senior Open
for the second time last month and has been a runner-up at the Senior Open in 2022 and 2023.
'I thought I was getting better but a little bit of riding my luck,' he told Sky Sports after today's third round.
'I don't think I rode my luck as much today, I wasn't out of position. But I certainly didn't play much better than yesterday. A little bit more cautious today.
'I don't feel very good about how I'm hitting the ball so I'm trying to get away from that and not worry so much about that because clearly I'm scoring well. I'm better off to be shooting 13-under par and not feel good about it than think you're swinging it great and be level par.
'I just need to go out and try to play golf tomorrow, hit the right shots at the right time.'
Should he succeed tomorrow, Harrington will become the fifth player in history to win the Senior Open and Open Championship, following in the footsteps of Tom Watson, Gary Player, Bob Charles and Darren Clarke.
Advertisement
'You're putting things in my head,' he laughed when asked about the prospect of achieving that feat.
'I'm not going to think about that. Those are the sort of things where you're getting ahead of yourself and I'll wait until tomorrow to try and digest that.'
A HUGE birdie putt for
@padraig_h
👏🏻
He's tied for the lead with five holes to play 👀
#SeniorOpen
pic.twitter.com/CNdZcvhgZt
— Legends Tour (@euLegendsTour)
July 26, 2025
Birdies on the fourth and ninth sent Harringon into the back nine in a strong position. He added another birdie on 11 before dropping a shot on the next hole. But he quickly recovered with back-to-back birdies, sinking a brilliant putt from around 30 feet at the 13th.
He wrapped up another sizzling 65 with his sixth birdie of the day on 18.
Meanwhile, Leona Maguire shot a 73 in the third round of the Women's Scottish Open to leave her in a tie for 18th place and 12 shots off the lead heading into the final round.
Maguire started the round six shots off the lead, but has slipped back after her day was hampered by four bogeys. However, she finished strongly with a birdie on 13 and back-to-back birdies on 17 and 18.
Lottie Woad's 67 sees her carry a two-shot lead into the final round.
View the leaderboard here
Written by Sinead Farrell and originally published on The 42 whose award-winning team produces original content that you won't find anywhere else: on GAA, League of Ireland, women's sport and boxing, as well as our game-changing rugby coverage, all with an Irish eye. Subscribe
here
.