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07/05 14:47 CDT Padraig Harrington gets off to hot start and repeats as U.S. Senior Open champion Padraig Harrington gets off to hot start and repeats as U.S. Senior Open champion By JOE REEDY AP Sports Writer COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) --- Padraig Harrington's first two U.S. Senior Open titles weren't decided until the final hole. His record-tying third had no drama by the time he reached the back nine on Sunday. Harrington became the fourth golfer to defend his U.S. Senior Open title, shooting a final-round 66 to win by four shots at Scioto Country Club. The 54-year-old Irishman also joined Miller Barber as the only three-time winners in the tournament's 46-year history. "I like creating records, and to be part of that is a big deal. It just shows how hard it is," Harrington said after capturing his fourth senior major. "I'm seeing guys coming along, and I'm kind of realizing there is only a window to win these tournaments. They have told me and other players that it's kind of up to about 56-57, then it starts going downhill quickly. "But I was thinking and feeling that way, that you only have a set period to get your major wins on the Senior Tour because not that you're getting older but new guys are coming in." Harrington also joins Barber (1985), Gary Player (1988), and Allen Doyle (2006) as the only golfers to win the U.S. Senior Open back-to-back. Harrington --- who finished at 12-under 268 --- birdied the first two holes and had four birdies with only one bogey. Third-round leader Stewart Cink was runner-up for the second straight year. Cink bogeyed two of the first three holes and struggled with accuracy most of the day, shooting 71 and finishing at 8-under 272. "It feels great, but there wasn't the drama we normally provide down the stretch," said Harrington, who won by one shot in 2022 and '25. "I knew I had a nice lead, which let me play to the middle of the greens and hit the shots. I hit some big shots coming home to take all the stress out of it." It is Harrington's 12th career PGA Tour Champions victory and his first since last July's Senior British Open. George McNeill --- the other player in the Harrington-Cink grouping --- shot a 71 and finished with a 6-under 274. Ian Poulter (67) was fourth at 5-under 275 while Retief Goosen (67), Jamie Donaldson (68) and Paul Stankowski (69) were at 4-under 276. Cink hit only 2 of 7 fairways on the front nine, ending his chances of becoming the first player to win the first three senior majors in a year. "It's always fun going down the stretch with a lot on the line. Today, I played poorly enough that there was no championship on the line, but I was still battling hard for second," he said. "It's been a while since I had a day like that where start to finish it felt difficult, but today it did, and my scorecard tells the story." Cink had a one-shot lead after 54 holes, but Harrington took the lead with a five-shot swing on the first three holes. It was the second straight round to start early to beat the weather. Harrington made a 15-foot putt on the par-4 first to tie Cink. He then took a two-shot lead when his second shot on the No. 2 par-4 landed within 3 feet of the cup for an easy birdie while Cink bogeyed. Cink got within two with a birdie on the par-4 seventh after Harrington bogeyed the No. 6 par-5. The momentum shifted back to Harrington on the par-4 eighth. Cink chose driver off the tee, but it landed hot on the left side of the fairway, took a couple of hard bounces, and rolled into the creek on the right-hand side of the fairway. Cink ended up with a bogey while Harrington sank a 30-foot birdie putt to double his advantage. "That one was definitely kind of a crusher there. I finally straightened the tee ball out after I hadn't hit very many good tee balls, and boom, I hit a great one, and it cost me a penalty shot. And then Padraig makes the putt," Cink said. "We are so in the present that we don't always feel those momentum shifts, but looking back, I'm sure it probably did." ___ AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf

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