FRISCO (Texas) – Padraig harrington had the 83rd KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship under control for 45 holes. He was on cruise control until suddenly he wasn’t.
After 51 holes of bogey-free play, the Irishman finally fell victim to the golf gods on the 16th hole.
Harrington said to reporters after his third round 68 that the second shot was “kind of innocuous” because the pins were so close. “I was playing 15 feet to the left and, to be honest, I did that sometimes. I wasn’t focused and I wasn’t into it, and I hit a poor shot in the hazards .”
While untimely, Harrington breathed a sigh relief when he saw the double bogey.
He said: “I’m glad that I broke my par streak.” It’s bad not to have made any bogeys. It’s not good. It’s strange .”
Harrington, while standing over the tee of the par-3 17, held the club that had caused him trouble on 16. Harrington chose to be aggressive and nipped the stick of the flagstick, resulting in a par.
The three-time major champion played his tee off the left hazard on 18. Harrington, who needed a par in order to stay tied with Steve Stricker’s surging play, got out of the greenside bunker and birdied the par-5 to take a one stroke lead into Sunday’s final round. Harrington’s birdie gives him not only the overnight lead but also a boost in confidence, despite his slip-up down the stretch.
“It is always nice to hole the putt at the last,” he said Golfweekspan size=”font-weight 400 ;”>. “Yeah. You’re right. It creates some momentum.
It seemed that Harrington was the one who would lose this tournament heading into Saturday’s final round. Steve Stricker (former Ryder Cup co-captain and 2023 captain) took it upon himself, to close the gap.
Stricker, who was five shots behind at the start of Saturday’s round and six shots behind at one point in the round on Saturday, stormed off the blocks with a 4-under-32 on the front nine.
He told reporters that he was only going to continue trying to make birdies. “I was able to play aggressively and hit good shots. I also made putts to try and make birdies. This was my mindset. I was also not trying to make an eagle. I thought if I was able to go bogey free today, I would need a good round in order to be able get back into the game. There’s still a round of golf and a lot more to play .”
After doubling down on a solid first nine, Stricker stuck to his gameplan and posted a bogey free 64. This tied the course record that Harrington set on Thursday, as well as the best score ever recorded in the Senior PGA Championship’s third round.
Stewart Cink, a rookie on the PGA Tour Champions, will join the two in Sunday’s final round pairing.
Although he was a little off the pace and had slowed down on the first nine holes, Cink credited his wife Lisa for getting him in the race.
Cink said: “She (Lisa), told me that at the turn I had a dry period where I bogeyed 8 because I made a bad decision there. I made a bogey on 8.
“I went in one direction, and Padraig the other. Lisa told me, “You’re doing well, but you are now only seven behind Harrington.” He has separated himself. She said: “Let’s try to pick our way into shouting distance. ‘… It didn’t change my attitude but I felt more confident. I have to give credit to my caddie for this one .”
The 2009 Open winner was rewarded with his third ace in a row at Fields Ranch for sticking to a revised gameplan.
Shot of the Day
@stewartcink Aces No. 13 at the @seniorpgachamp
pic.twitter.com/AKOJZ3k8mO
May 27, 2023 HTML0 — PGA TOUR Champions
Cink quickly cut into Harrington’s leading position, closing his third round at 5-under-67, just three shots behind the leader.
Cink will not give up on his quest to win the PGA Tour Champions.
Cink stated after the round that he was three players behind. “It’s probably Sticker and Harrington, who you wouldn’t want to fall behind in this event, to be honest.” The two players who will probably be the most successful are those that have the most experience and confidence in their previous seasons. I am the new guy. I have the firepower to compete with them or to take this thing over. But tomorrow, it will be a dogfight. It’s going to be a dogfight tomorrow. Tomorrow will be a huge tournament and you don’t get to experience that every day. .”
Low scores are certainly possible, and the new home of PGA of America will offer a dramatic finale as the star power takes centre stage on Sunday.
Robert Karlsson Darren Clarke Y.E. Yang looks to push on tied at 9-under. Steven Alker, the defending Senior PGA champ, is in sole seventh place (8 under). Katsumasa miyamoto and Miguel Angel Jimenez round out the top 10.
