Scott Henderson and Brian Gay lead at the Championship.
Padraig Harrington tees off on the second hole.(Image: Photo by Chris Condon/Getty Images)
Padraig Harrington has work to do if he is going to be in with a chance of taking home a huge winner’s payday at the US Senior PGA Championship.
The tournament has a purse of $3 million, with the champion’s earnings set to total at $540,000.
Dublin man, Harrington, heads the field alongside Steve Stricker, Stewart Cink, Zach Johnson, Miguel Angel Jimenez and Ernie Els.
Harrington closed a double bogey seeing him fall six shots behind the top of the leaderboard at The Concession Golf Club.
It had been a quiet round for Pádraig Harrington, who sat at one over par after 14 holes following bogeys at the sixth and 13th, with his only birdie coming at the ninth.
However, he reignited his challenge with a superb run of three consecutive birdies at 15, 16 and 17, briefly boosting his hopes of landing a third senior major title.
Those hopes were dented on the final hole, though, as a costly double bogey at the 18th dropped him back to four under, leaving him to card a level-par 72.
Australian Scott Henderson and American Brian Gay currently top the leaderboard at the tournament.
Harrington was in the news, ahead of the tournament, praising recently-crowned two-time Masters champion Rory McIlroy.
“Rory could win 10 of them at this stage, or five of them, anyway,” said Harrington.
“He probably will still be competitive at 50 years of age around that golf course. For him, it was interesting that he won that one with his short game, which makes him even better a player.
“He’s always been a superb chipper, but now it’s with the putting and things like that,” he added.
“A very rounded game and a game that looks like it has a lot of longevity in it. So, he’s in a very nice place going forward, particularly at that tournament that you would think.
“It’s amazing when you win one, that he’s now got two, and we’re thinking that maybe two or three or five would be realistic around that golf course.”
Harrington went on to praise his performance when the pressure was on at the Masters: “He showed some real good character there.
“You know, psychology-wise he really won that tournament. His mentality and how he went about things, that’s a very strong showing for him.
“He obviously still has the physical side of the game, but to show that short game and the mental side of the game means he looks like he would be a very strong force for a while to come in the game.”