Mark Hensby and caddie watch the result of his second to the 17th today – image Logan Whitton USGA
Mark Hensby, Stewart Cink and Padraig Harrington remain tied for the lead following the completion of a weather-disrupted final round of the US Senior Open at the Broadmoor in Colorado Springs, Hensby missing a great chance to take the outright lead at the last when a five-foot birdie putt slipped by.
For Hensby, however, his 2 under par round of 68 to follow up consecutive 67’s in rounds one and two has him well placed to better his previous best in this championship when 3rd behind Harrington in 2022.
Hensby’s round was highlighted by a 20-foot eagle putt at the 9th, but perhaps an even bigger statement came when he birdied the 13th and 14th holes to lead on his own before he bogeyed the 17th hole to lead with Cink. He and Cink were one clear of Harrington playing the last but, in an unlikely twist, Harrington holed for birdie from 20 yards short of the green and Hensby missed a very makeable 5 footer for the outright lead again.
And so, the joint leaders, who were tied through 36 holes, will do battle again tomorrow. While Hensby could be considered the least likely of the three to win, his pedigree and form this week make such an outcome well within the realm of possibility.
Hensby was one of Australia’s best players during the mid-2000’s wining in Sweden and on the PGA Tour and playing in the 2005 Presidents Cup team, before a car accident saw him struggle. By playing competitively where he could through until turning 50, however, his determination and talent has seen him forge a relatively successful PGA Tour Champions career, and a win tomorrow would be very fitting for the now 53-year-old.
What would make a win even more special for Hensby is that it would come on the day of his 54th birthday
The hole out by Harrington at the last when a dropped shot seemed a possibility and missed birdie chances by both Cink and Hensby changed the dynamic of the event heading into tomorrrow’s final round but all three have realistic chances of claiming hyet another major in the case of Harrington and a first major in either regular or senior golf for Hensby and Cink
There is little doubt that Hensby is enjoying the experience of being in contention and playing with two players of the calibre of Harrington and Cink.
“Any time you play with two great players like that, it’s definitely fun,” said Hensby after his round. “Didn’t go off to the best start, but as Padraig said, we all kind of made a few birdies there in a row and we started to get things going.
“It’s fun playing with those two guys. They’re just such great players. Obviously, Padraig winning three major championships in his career, and Stewart Cink is — it’s awesome, no doubt.
“That chip, (by Harrington) obviously going in was momentum, and then I actually felt like, okay, now it’s time to go. Unfortunately, around here is tricky. You can have a five-footer that can break two feet. People go, ahh, when you miss a four-footer even though you’re aiming at a cup outside the left edge and hoping. But it was fun.”
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Ten Australasians play Amundi Evian Championship
2021 winner, Minjee Lee. Can she make it back-to-back major championship wins? – image Ladies European Tour
The LPGA Tour has five majors on its annual schedule, and this week, it is the fourth of those, the Amundi Evian Masters, that takes centre stage at the Evian Resort Golf Club in Evian-les-Bains, France.
Nine Australians and one New Zealander get their chance at the US$8 million purse, although the event previously the most lucrative on the LPGA Tour has now slipped to 4th of the majors in terms of the prizemoney offered behind the US Women’s Open, the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship and the AIG Women’s Open and tied with the Chevron Championship.
This week’s event is the first of three LPGA Tour events in Europe over the next three weeks, the Women’s Scottish Open in two weeks followed by the AIG Women’s Open at Royal Porthcawl in Wales on July 31st.
Minjee Lee, Lydia Ko, Hannah Green, Grace Kim, Stephanie Kyriacou, Gabi Ruffels, Karis Davidson, Cassie Porter, Hira Naveed and Robyn Choi have all made the field courtesy of a range of qualifying criteria with Lydia Ko (2015) and Minjee Lee (2021) previous winners.
Ko’s form has tailed off a little in recent starts since her win at the HSBC Women’s World Championship in March while Lee’s win at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship last month suggests she might do well again although her win in 2021 was the only top ten she has recorded in the event in tens starts at the Evian.
Stephanie Kyriacou finished runner-up in the event last year only one shot behind the winner, Ayake Furue of Japan.
Robyn Choi and Cassie Porter will play the event for the first time.
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Five Australasians using Scottish Open as Royal Portrush tune-up
Adam Scott during his near miss last year – image DP World Tour
With just over a week to go until the Open Championship at Royal Portrush, this week’s Genesis Scottish Open takes on greater significance for those looking to fine-tune their games ahead of the final major of the year, and five Australasians are taking the opportunity to do just that.
The Renaissance Club in North Berwick has played host to the event for the past six years, three of those jointly sanctioned by both the DP World Tour and the PGA Tour with players enjoying the opportunity to use the Scottish Open as an introduction to links style golf for the first time this year ahead of one of the great links courses in Northern Ireland next week.
Xander Schauffele, who won this event in 2022 and finished 15th last year ahead of his Open Championship win, perhaps described it best as an American playing in a somewhat foreign playing environment.
“I think it’s massive across the board,” said the current world number 3. “Just hard to replicate any sort of tournament feel back home in the States where you can hit an iron, the same club, a difference of 50 to 60 yards just based on how you hit it or what kind of wind you get.
“There’s only one way to get that done, and it’s coming over here. And whether it’s hitting drivers in crosswinds or getting used to a different bounce with your wedge or trying to hit it over those big lips that you guys have over here, it’s a lot of fun to prepare that way.”
Ryan Fox heads the Australasians in terms of world ranking, the New Zealander having played this event well in previous years, although those efforts were before it moved from the nearby Gullane Golf Club.
Fox will be joined by Adam Scott, his fellow New Zealander Daniel Hillier, Elvis Smylie and PGA Tour rookie Karl Vilips. although Vilips has yet to earn a place in the field for next week.
Perhaps surprisingly, former winner of the event Min Woo Lee and Jason Day are not teeing it up ahead of the Open Championship, preferring to prepare elsewhere.
The defending champion this week is Robert McIntyre, who overcame the disappointment of a narrow loss to Rory McIlroy in 2023 to defeat Adam Scott by one shot last year.
The leading five players in the current world ranking are in the field, Scottie Scheffler looking to improve on is 3rd place finish at the Renaissance in his last start here in 2023 while Rory McIlroy not only won in 2023 he finished 4th last year suggesting he, too, will be a force to be reckoned with.
Tee Times
Kobori and Hillier add to New Zealand’s impressive weekend
Kazuma Kobori – file image Australian Golf Media
New Zealand golfing stocks, already boosted by the performances of emerging stars Amelia Garvey and Denzel Ieremia in events in Europe over the weekend, were further improved by Kazuma Kobori’s best finish in a DP World Tour event in Germany last week and the late inclusion of Daniel Hillier into next week’s Open Championship field.
Kobori finished 3rd at the BMW International Open in Munich, his best result in Europe since officially joining the tour late in 2024, following his success on the 2023/2024 PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit.
Kobori secured a cheque for €147,000, by some way the biggest in his career to date when finishing four shots behind the winner, Daniel Brown.
Kobori’s final round of 63 included nine birdies and an eagle to go with two bogeys, recording the best round of the day by two shots and securing the 23-year-old his second top ten since joining the DP World Tour eight months ago.
Kobori jumped 29 places to 44th in the Road to Dubai rankings, having now played 17 events on the DP World Tour in his rookie season there.
Daniel Hillier has secured one of the last places available in next week’s Open Championship after the completion of last week’s BMW International Open in Germany, New Zealand’s second-highest-ranked male golfer’s place in the Road to Dubai rankings as at July 6th, enough to get him into his 4th Open Championship field.
Open Championship Field
New Zealander Garvey’s move to Europe a good one
Garvey in action this week – image Ladies European Tour
New Zealand’s Amelia Garvey recorded her third, 3rd place finish in her last four starts on the Ladies European Tour at this week’s KPMG Women’s Irish Open.
Garvey, who played collegiate golf in the US before turning professional three years ago, will move to 10th place on the LET Order of Merit, justifying her decision to focus her attention on the LET after playing on the Futures Tour in the US until this year.
Garvey finished seven shots behind the brilliant English amateur Lottie Woad but was only one shot out of second-placed Madelene Sagstrom of Sweden.
“It’s unreal, just to have another good week after playing five weeks in a row, Garvey told the Ladies European Tour. I’m really happy to finish it off like that,” said Garvey, who has recorded four top-10 finishes in her last five events.
“The plan was to make birdies early on and try and put a good front nine up. If she had come back to the field, you never know what could have happened, but she’s played great and it’s awesome to see the world number one amateur win this event. I did a good job.
“It’s all down to my coaches back in Manchester. I put in some really good work, I decided to take Jabra off and train back there with them. I’ve been feeling great since. I’m excited to be in the Scottish now, so I will keep playing and keep it up hopefully. I knew a good week here would get me in the AIG Women’s Open and it’ll be my first one, so I’m really looking forward to it.”
Perth’s Kirsten Rudgeley was the next best of the Australasians when she tied for 5th.
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Good week for Australasians in Morocco
Denzel Ieremia – file image Golf NZ
It was a good week for Australasian golfers at this week’s International Series Morocco event at Royal Golf Dar Es Salam (Red Course), with five finishing inside the top ten of the US$2 million event.
New Zealand’s Denzel Ieremia and Australian Maverik Antcliff both picked up cheques for US$102,000 for finishing in a share of the runner-up position.
Sydney’s John Lyras and South Australian Jack Buchanan shared 8th place while another Sydney golfer, Kevin Yuan tied for 10th.
For Ieremia the performance represents his best finish in an event on a recognised tour and the biggest cheque to date in his professional career.
The former Iowa State graduate finished 5th in the 2019 Australian Open but has struggled to go on from there and has struggled, without full status, to gain starts in events of late.
Antcliff is a multiple winner on the China Tour in previous years and managed to gain access to the then European Tour as a result of that pathway and did finish runner-up in the Canary Islands and an impressive 3rd in the Irish Open in 2020 but is currently without status in Europe. Antcliff too played collegiate golf in the US at Augusta State before turning professional in 2016.
The winner of the event was Zimbabwe’s Scott Vincent who won his 5th professional title but his first in nearly three years with his four shot victory.
The Asian Tour now has a break of several weeks until the Indonesia Open in late August, although several of its players have a start at the Open Championship in two weeks.
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Australians feature on International Series Morocco leaderboard
Maverick Antcliff – file photo AGM
Australasian are well represented near the top of the leaderboard at the halfway stage of the US$2 million International Series Morocco event at Royal Golf Dar Es Salam.
Queensland’s Maverick Antcliff is in outright second position and two shots from the leader Scott Vincent of Zimbabwe, but Sydney’s John Lyras and defending champion, New Zealand’s Ben Campbell, are just two shots further back in a share of 5th with Sydney’s Kevin Yuan also in the top ten in a share of 10th place and five shots from the lead.
Antcliff, who played collegiate golf in the US before turning professional, is a former multiple winner on the China Tour before joining the European Tour in 2020 and 2021. He is now back on the Asian Tour but in eight starts this season he has yet to record a top twenty.
The event which includes several LIV Golf League players, is one of a series of ten such events in which a pathway to the LIV Golf League is the reward for the successful leader of the Order of Merit at season’s end.
Last year, Campbell defeated, in a playoff, the man who would go on to lead the 2024 Asian Tour Order of Merit, John Catlin who this week recorded a second round of 76 after sharing the opening round lead and is now tied for 27th.
A massive 26 players are within six shots of the lead starting the final two rounds.
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Lucas Herbert makes ten Australasians for Royal Portrush
Lucas Herbert gains one of the final places in the field – image Australian Golf Media
The success of Lucas Herbert in the Open Championship’s final qualifying at West Lancashire this week brings to ten the number of Australasians who will tee it up at Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland on July 17th.
Herbert joins Jason Day, Ryan Fox, Minwoo Lee, Adam Scott, Marc Leishman, Cam Smith, Elvis Smylie, Ryan Peake and Curtis Luck in the field for the final major of the year,
Day, Fox, Lee and Scott are all in the field courtesy of their current world ranking and through other criteria also, Smith due to his win at the Open in 2022, Smylie courtesy of his success on the PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit, Peake due to his win at the New Zealand Open, Leishman and Luck as a result of finishing inside the top three and not otherwise exempt at the Australian Open in December, and Herbert as a result of earning one of the five cards given out at his final qualifying venue.
Royal Portrush will play host for the third occasion, the first in 1951 when Max Faulkner took the title and again in 2019 when Shane Lowry from across the border in Ireland gave local fans plenty to shout about as he cruised to a six-shot victory.
Mark Hensby shares 4th place at US Senior Open
Despite a disappointing final day, it was not all doom for Hensby as his birdie putt on the 7th indicates – image USGA
Mark Hensby’s bid for the most significant title in his professional career has fallen short after a final round of 73 at the US Senior Open saw him finish in a share of 4th place and six shots behind the eventual winner Padraig Harrington.
Hensby started the final round tied with Harrington and Stewart Cink, but a bogey at the very first hole today saw him fall two behind immediately when Harrington birdied and although he made the turn in even par 36, he was three shots from the lead and the horse had essentially bolted.
Bogeys at the 11th and 12th were more cause for concern, especially with others making a bid from behind, but a series of pars over the closing six holes including an impressive par from an awkward lie in the fairway bunker at the last were enough for the now 54 year old (his birthday was today) to record an impressive share of 4th place with Thomas Bjorn.
“Yeah, I’m going to be honest, today I just got off to a bad start,” said Hensby. “We just hit a few clubs that probably weren’t the right clubs and hit it in some bad spots where it’s hard to two-putt. Just couldn’t get any momentum going. Just couldn’t get the putter right today.
“As I said last night in the media tent, when you play with two — one Hall of Famer, and Stewart Cink obviously a very accomplished player, it’s always fun. You always learn something from them, what they do.
“I felt comfortable, I must admit. Obviously, we all get nervous, but I just didn’t get off to the start I needed to really contend. Overall, I’m happy for the week. I had a good week.”
Hensby’s cheque for the week was US$165,000.
Steve Alker finished alone in 7th place, and Cameron Percy continued his recent good form with a share of 9th place following his final round of 66.
As for Harrington (pictured below), he adds a second US Senior Open title to his three regular tour major titles (two Open Championships and one PGA Championship) and brings his total of professional wins worldwide to 42.
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The winner – Padraig Harrington – image USGA
Mark Hensby chasing a birthday bonus at US Senior Open
Mark Hensby and caddie watch the result of his second to the 17th today – image Logan Whitton USGA
Mark Hensby, Stewart Cink and Padraig Harrington remain tied for the lead following the completion of a weather-disrupted final round of the US Senior Open at the Broadmoor in Colorado Springs, Hensby missing a great chance to take the outright lead at the last when a five-foot birdie putt slipped by.
For Hensby, however, his 2 under par round of 68 to follow up consecutive 67’s in rounds one and two has him well placed to better his previous best in this championship when 3rd behind Harrington in 2022.
Hensby’s round was highlighted by a 20-foot eagle putt at the 9th, but perhaps an even bigger statement came when he birdied the 13th and 14th holes to lead on his own before he bogeyed the 17th hole to lead with Cink. He and Cink were one clear of Harrington playing the last but, in an unlikely twist, Harrington holed for birdie from 20 yards short of the green and Hensby missed a very makeable 5 footer for the outright lead again.
And so, the joint leaders, who were tied through 36 holes, will do battle again tomorrow. While Hensby could be considered the least likely of the three to win, his pedigree and form this week make such an outcome well within the realm of possibility.
Hensby was one of Australia’s best players during the mid-2000’s wining in Sweden and on the PGA Tour and playing in the 2005 Presidents Cup team, before a car accident saw him struggle. By playing competitively where he could through until turning 50, however, his determination and talent has seen him forge a relatively successful PGA Tour Champions career, and a win tomorrow would be very fitting for the now 53-year-old.
What would make a win even more special for Hensby is that it would come on the day of his 54th birthday
The hole out by Harrington at the last when a dropped shot seemed a possibility and missed birdie chances by both Cink and Hensby changed the dynamic of the event heading into tomorrrow’s final round but all three have realistic chances of claiming hyet another major in the case of Harrington and a first major in either regular or senior golf for Hensby and Cink
There is little doubt that Hensby is enjoying the experience of being in contention and playing with two players of the calibre of Harrington and Cink.
“Any time you play with two great players like that, it’s definitely fun,” said Hensby after his round. “Didn’t go off to the best start, but as Padraig said, we all kind of made a few birdies there in a row and we started to get things going.
“It’s fun playing with those two guys. They’re just such great players. Obviously, Padraig winning three major championships in his career, and Stewart Cink is — it’s awesome, no doubt.
“That chip, (by Harrington) obviously going in was momentum, and then I actually felt like, okay, now it’s time to go. Unfortunately, around here is tricky. You can have a five-footer that can break two feet. People go, ahh, when you miss a four-footer even though you’re aiming at a cup outside the left edge and hoping. But it was fun.”
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Mark Hensby rallies late to rejoin the US Senior Open lead
Mark Hensby on his way to a second consecutive 67 today – image USGA
In yesterday’s opening round of the US Senior Open Championship at Broadmoor Golf Club in Colorado Springs, Mark Hensby let a great halfway position slip over the closing stages of his first round. Today, however, the reverse applied as, after an early birdie and an opening nine of even par 34, the 53 year old from Lismore in northern New South Wales, powered home with a closing nine of 3 under 33 to re join the lead Padraig Harrington and Stewart Cink had created earlier in the day.
That trio has edged clear of the field by three shots over Thomas Bjorn with Billy Andrade and Y.E. Yang another shot back.
Hensby, who turns 54 on Sunday, was a lot calmer about his finish today and less frustrated with the golf course than was the case yesterday. He had also been bothered by the television cameramen on Thursday, taking their time getting set up behind him when about to play his shot.
“The TV guys kept running up on me when I’m over my shot, and when I’m a fast player, which I am, it’s like, I’m ready to go and then I have to back off because they ran to stick that mic pretty close.
“And that happened three times. Yeah, that got a bit frustrating when my caddie had to keep telling them to stop it. But as I said, today we told them from the get-go, stand aside, and it was fine.”
“Yeah, I was frustrated yesterday more with what was going on out there than my game, especially the back nine,” said Hensby. “There was a lot of disturbances and I didn’t want to bring that up because I didn’t play well the back nine, but a lot was going on yesterday afternoon when I was playing well. But no, definitely played more steady today than I did yesterday, that’s for sure.”
Queensland’s Scott Hend recorded a 1 under 69 today to move into a share of 10th place and five off the lead. While Steve Alker and Stuart Appleby stayed in touch at 1 over and seven shots from the leading trio.
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