Mark Hensby is poised to celebrate his 54th birthday with a notable performance at the US Senior Open in Colorado. The Australian golfer has maintained his position at the top of the leaderboard through three rounds and will compete in the final group at The Broadmoor on Sunday. He shares this position with major champions Padraig Harrington and Stewart Cink, all posting rounds of 2-under 68 in Round 3.
Harrington and Cink started strong on Saturday, while Hensby bolstered his standing with an eagle on the par-5 ninth hole and a chip-in birdie on the par-4 13th. Although he briefly held an outright lead at 9-under after a birdie on the par-4 14th, he missed a short birdie putt on the final hole, leaving him tied with Harrington and Cink at 8-under.
Hensby aims to become only the second Australian to win the US Senior Open and seeks to be the first Aussie since Stewart Ginn’s victory at the 2002 Senior Players Championship to claim a senior major title.
“Any time you play with two great players like that, it’s definitely fun,” said Hensby. “Didn’t get 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.”
He expressed optimism about playing alongside Harrington and Cink: “It’s fun playing with those two guys. They’re just such great players.”
Reflecting on his approach for Sunday, Hensby commented: “I just felt like I’ve just got to play my game and try and just do the best I can do all day and see what happens.”
Expecting birthday wishes from family back home in Australia before resting ahead of Sunday’s round, Hensby looks forward to making it a memorable celebration. “My family will call me tonight, I’m sure, but yeah, we’ll celebrate tomorrow,” he noted.
Thomas Bjorn from Denmark remains within four strokes of the lead, while New Zealand’s Steven Alker trails by five following an impressive 4-under 66 in Round 3.
