Padraig Harrington leads by a stroke at the midway point of the Senior Open Championship after a bogey-free 65 at Sunningdale.
Sitting on three-under par after Thursday, Harrington recorded birdies at the first, the ninth, the 12th, 15th and then drained a 10-footer at the 18th under the evening sun to lead on eight-under par, one ahead of Thomas Bjorn and defending champion KJ Choi.
The Dubliner managed to avoid any dropped strokes thanks to some superb scrambling, which included a remarkable par on 16 after hitting his approach from the gorse.
A bogey-free round for Pádraig Harrington today 👏🏻
— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) July 25, 2025
He's also the clubhouse leader heading into the weekend 🔥#SeniorOpen | @padraig_h pic.twitter.com/Cfqv5pqgga
Former Open champions Ernie Els and Justin Leonard are in a quartet of players on six-under par.
Harrington, who won his second US Senior Open at Broadmoor last month, finished runner-up twice at the Senior Open, finishing one stroke adrift of compatriot Darren Clarke in 2022 and then losing in a play-off to Alex Cejka in 2023.
The Dubliner is seeking to become the fifth player to win both the Open Championship and the Senior Open, after Clarke, Tom Watson, Gary Player and Bob Charles.
