Somebody forgot to tell Mark Hensby that making pars in a U.S. Senior Open – or any USGA championship – is a good score.
The Australian, who turns 54 on Sunday, registered just three in Thursday’s opening round of the championship’s 45th rendition at The Broadmoor’s East Course. And he shares the 18-hole lead.
Hensby collected a championship-leading nine birdies against six bogeys en route to a 3-under-par 67, good enough to share the lead with 2022 champion Padraig Harrington.
U.S. Senior Open rookies Stewart Cink, Stephen Gallacher and Freddie Jacobson, along with Bob Estes, Thomas Bjorn, Ken Tanigawa and qualifier Matt Gogel, were one stroke back.
Spain’s Miguel Angel Jimenez, coming off last week’s playoff victory in the Kraulig Companies Championship, the third of five majors on the PGA Tour Champions circuit, is among a large group two strokes back. He was joined at 1-under 69 by the man he defeated in that playoff, Steven Alker, along with Parker, Colo., resident Shane Bertsch, former Wake Forest All-American Billy Andrade, Paul Broadhurst, Steve Flesch, Peter Baker and Robert Karlsson.
Taking advantage of softer conditions after the venerable layout received just under an inch of rain the past 48 hours as well as light wind, Hensby, who finished third in the 2022 U.S. Senior Open at Saucon Valley Country Club and tied for third in the U.S. Open at Pinehurst 20 years ago, birdied his first three holes and seven of the first nine en route to an outward-nine, 6-under 30. But he struggled a bit coming home with five bogeys, including a missed 8-footer on 18, to go with two birdies. His three pars came on Nos. 7, 14 and 15.
“It was up and down. That's about all I can say,” said Hensby. “It's just frustrating…But I've never been a very consistent player. I'm hot or cold, and that kind of sucks. Certain shots I keep hitting during rounds, it just pisses me off, so to speak. So yeah, the back nine was just kind of a bit of that.”
Hensby’s 2025 season on the PGA Tour Champions has been pedestrian with just one top 10 (T-8 at the Principal Charity Classic) and a lot of top 15s and 20s in 13 starts. He arrived at The Broadmoor fresh from a solo 15th finish last week in Akron, Ohio.
Harrington, meanwhile, was in contention to win last month’s Senior PGA Championship at Congressional Country Club until suffering a couple of hiccups down the stretch. On Thursday, he was nearly flawless, registering four birdies against a lone bogey on the 15th hole that could have been a lot worse. A wayward tee shot that could not be found forced Harrington back to the tee, where his drive found the right rough. From there, he knocked his fourth shot 20 feet below the hole and holed the putt for a remarkable 5.
“Right now, I'm not sure if I'm going to hit 5-wood, 3-wood or driver off that tee,” said Harrington. “That sums up the golf course.”
On 18, he spun his approach 10 feet below the hole, but his birdie attempt to take sole possession of the lead drifted left.
Harrington went out in 32 strokes with birdies on 2, 3, 6 and 8, and recorded subsequent pars over the next six holes.
“I got through most of it,” said Harrington. “Didn't really create chances on the back nine. I wasn't in trouble very much, only on 15, but obviously there's not as many birdie chances on that nine…We're in at 3 under. There's a long way to go. I don't think being 4 under makes any difference to being 3 under at this stage of the tournament.”
Speaking of numbers, finding the right one with the altitude and temperature variables – the resort sits 6,300 feet above sea level – as well as dissecting the East Course’s diabolical putting surfaces that some have called the most difficult in golf has made the task for the 50-and-over set that much more challenging. Many have calculated 10 percent more distance, but that can alter if the temperature fluctuates. Then there are the elevation changes to deal with.
“When the mountain is there, yeah, it's a bit of a head scratcher at times,” said Tanigawa. “It looks like something, and it doesn't do it. But you've got to adjust and adapt to it as well as you can, but it's definitely there, down mountain, into the mountain, yeah, it's a challenge.”
Cink said on Wednesday he felt the power players with higher ball flights could take advantage of the extra distance gained by the altitude. Despite only hitting 8 of 14 fairways, the Georgian still managed to hit 17 of 18 greens with only a poor drive on the par-4 18th forcing a layup from the rough that eventually led to his second bogey of the round. Consecutive birdies on 15 and 16 had vaulted the 2009 Open champion into a share of the lead.
“It's a difficult putting course, so not only is it hard to hit the ball at the right distance with the altitude and the ups and downs and the spins and all that, but you leave yourself a lot of 20-, 25-foot putts that have a lot of break and don't always do what they look like they're going to do,” said Cink. “You have to trust your mountain and valley effect. It's not the kind of course where you string together four birdie putts in a row where you're just like hoop, hoop, hoop, hoop. I'm not surprised that I was only 3 under par after hitting that many greens. I had some putts out there that were 20-footers that had eight, nine feet of break, and you're just not going to make that many of those.”
Bjorn, a three-time past Ryder Cup European competitor and winning captain (2018), arrived with the most momentum among the seven players who shot 68, having captured the American Family Insurance Championship two weeks ago with partner Darren Clarke, along with sharing runner-up honors at the Senior PGA Championship with Harrington.
The Dane was three under par through 10 holes before suffering consecutive bogeys on 13 and 14. He bounced back with a birdie on the par-3 16th.
“It's Thursday,” said the 54-year-old with 15 European Tour victories. “There's no prizes on Thursday. In any sort of USGA setup, you can very quickly play yourself out of it. It's a question of just being there and being around on Sunday so you can give yourself a chance to be up there. This is a good start, but I know there's 54 holes ahead and hard work ahead.”
Jacobson, a Swede who turned 50 last September, has also enjoyed a solid rookie season on PGA Tour Champions with four top-10s in 11 starts, including a tie for second in the Hoag Classic. Jacobson closed his day in style with an eagle-3 on the par-5 ninth, hitting a 7-wood to 17 feet and holing the putt. It was one of three eagles recorded in Round 1.
Gallacher, a 51-year-old rookie on the European Legends Tour, had only competed in two U.S. events prior to this week with his best result a T-25 in the Senior PGA Championship. The Scot has posted a pair of top 10s on the Legends Tour, including solo fifth in the Costa Navarino Legends Tour Trophy. After knocking his 8-iron approach to 3 feet for a birdie on 11, he played even-par golf over his final 11 holes.
“I knew it was a really good golf course, a proper test worthy of a U.S. Open golf course,” said Gallacher. “I can't believe how good the condition is with the weather we've had for two days because it was hailstones [on Tuesday] and flooding, and it's just immaculate. It's a proper test.”
Notable
Matt Schalk, of Erie, Colo., and the general manager of Colorado National Golf Club, had the honor of hitting the opening tee shot. Competing in his second consecutive U.S. Senior Open, Schalk, who has daughter and former University of Colorado women’s golf standout Hailey Schalk on his bag, ripped a drive into the left portion of the fairway.
The first-round scoring average of 73.94 was less than the two previous U.S. Senior Opens at The Broadmoor. In 2008, it was 74.55 and 10 years later it was 74.67. The par-36 outward nine (37.24) played 1.5 strokes less than the inward nine (36.70), which is a par 34.
Due to a number of withdrawals, every first alternate from the 12 final qualifying sites got into the field. Two second alternates also got into the field: Rob McIver (replaced Kevin Shields from his final qualifying site) and Mikael Lundberg (replaced exempt player Tim O’Neal). This was the first year the USGA went to a two-qualifying stage for the U.S. Senior Open. Matt Gogel and Notah Begay III have taken full advantage of their “mulligan.” Gogel, the first alternate from the Nebraska qualifier, is one stroke off the lead after a 68. Begay won a 7-for-1 playoff for first-alternate status at his final qualifier in Wisconsin and followed with an even-par 70 in Round 1.
Lundberg was the last player to officially register, arriving at The Broadmoor from his native Sweden at 12:30 a.m. MDT.
Two-time USGA champion Todd White registered an eagle-2 on the 335-yard second, holing out from 106 yards with a gap wedge after laying up with a 3-wood off the tee. White posted a 3-over 73. Tim Petrovic, a runner-up at The Broadmoor in 2018, also made an eagle on the 482-yard, par-4 13th hole.
Several notables are serving as caddies this week. Kimberly Kim, the youngest champion in U.S. Women’s Amateur history (14 in 2006 at Pumpkin Ridge) is on the bag of fellow Hawaiian Channing Tam. Canadian amateur Dave Bunker has American Hockey League referee Mike Dietrich. Plenty of sons, daughters and wives are also on bags, including Olin Browne Jr., a professional who qualified for the 2023 U.S. Open at The Los Angeles Country Club. His father, Olin Browne, won the 2011 U.S. Senior Open at Inverness Club.
Quotable
“To be honest in the altitude, with the ups and downs, and if the wind swirls at all, I think you're going to have to make decisions as you go all the time this week. You couldn't sit in the clubhouse and decide what clubs you're going to hit all day. You're going to have to get to the tee box and go, okay, the wind is this way, this is how I feel, I'll take this bunker on, or I'll lay up a bit.” – Padraig Harrington
“The course is excellent. It's really a really good course and fun to play. You have your hands full out there, especially mentally. It's a typical USGA setup. The rough is thick and the greens are very, very demanding. It's quite a puzzle.” – Stewart Cink
“This was the first year for final qualifying, like the U.S. Open. I thought there would be a pretty good shot at [getting in as an alternate] because I think my position was fourth of the re-allotment. And I know that playing the Champions Tour full-time there's always four guys or five guys that are pretty hurt. I got the call like Wednesday of last week, so that just kind of made it pretty easy. I've been living on the edge of the Champions Tour. With my status, I'm kind of usually two, three in, two or three out…so it's nothing unusual.” – Matt Gogel on getting into the field as an alternate
“I think it's just getting used to the altitude really. That's the biggest thing. I think it helped a little bit [from] the rainstorms because it's playing a little bit softer. Once you get used to sort of how far the ball is traveling … it made it a little bit easier to hit the fairways. But it's still a great course. You just can't switch off for a second or you hit it [to] the wrong side of the pin and you're doing well not to make bogey.” – Stephen Gallacher
“We teed off really early, so obviously nobody had been on them. They were perfect when we teed off. It's not the condition of the greens, it's the slopes and seeing and feeling the slope and the pace. Just with the course being on a bit of a slope, it just magnifies it a little bit, and it's tough to pick up on sometimes.” – Freddie Jacobson
“It's second nature for me. When temperatures change, the carry yardage based on the altitude slightly adjusts. Sometimes it's two, three yards, but it can make the difference between carrying a bunker or not carrying a bunker. So, the pockets of these greens where some of the holes are cut, guys are going to have to be real good with sort of picking the right club and choosing the right shot.” – New Mexico native Notah Begay III, who is accustomed to playing in altitude
“It's pretty special to be here, obviously with your daughter (Hailey on your bag). Sorry, I can never do this. I do it (get emotional) every time. It's really special. You're playing a game that's so male dominant, and you come out here with your daughter. It's amazing to share it with her. She keeps me grounded. She's a big part of my success. I think the reason I'm having so much success late in my career is because of just watching her and learning to play from her.” – Coloradoan Matt Schalk on playing the U.S. Senior Open in his home state with his daughter by his side
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