Padraig Harrington made four birdies Thursday, though it was the bogey he saved after losing a tee shot deep in a thicket of trees on the 15th hole that helped him keep a share of the first-round lead with Mark Hensby at the U.S. Senior Open.
The leaders shot 3-under 67 for a one-shot edge over a group of six, including Stewart Cink, who hit the first 17 greens before making bogey after coming up short on No. 18.
Harrington, the 2022 U.S. Senior champion, made all four birdies on the easier front nine at the Broadmoor and was leading by one when he snapped his tee shot on the par-4 15th deep into the woods. The Irishman took a cart back to the tee box for his third shot, then hit that into the right rough.
His approach to 20 feet and the ensuing make limited the damage and he made three pars on the way in to stay atop the leaderboard.
It was quite a different scene for Hensby, who made seven birdies on his front nine and got to 6 under at the turn, but finished bogey-bogey for his 67. He looked and sounded anything like a leader of a major championship afterward.