Updated July 5, 2026, 3:17 p.m. ET
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Padraig Harrington repeated as U.S. Senior Open champion, shooting a 4-under 66 on July 5 to defeat runner-up Stewart Cink by four strokes at Scioto Country Club in Upper Arlington.
Harrington, who also won the tournament in 2022 and 2025, began the day one stroke behind Cink but got off to a fast start with birdies on the first two holes. He finished with five birdies in the round and was 12 under for the tournament.
“This was a 2004 and 2005 full major golf course, exactly replicated, heavy rough. And then I’m looking at a week like this and I’m going, ‘what are they going to do with the pins? This looks tough.’ Of course the USGA provide a real tournament. What was interesting this week, they did a mixture because of the style of greens. You did have some nice pins if you were in positions, and they had some really, really tough pins, as well. It really has the feel of a real major. That shocked me originally. I look forward to coming back every year. This is like my — could I play one like this every week?
“You have to be patient. You have to be — all the traits that I’ve built my own career on line up at a U.S. Open. I never won one for real, but I always loved playing them because you had to really be — your mental fortitude was so important during the week of a U.S. Open. Again, of all our senior events, this is the one that would stand out for asking those mental questions as much as the physical questions.”
Harrington received the winner’s share of $800,000. Cink, who shot a 71 on July 5 to finish at 8 under, received $432,000 for finishing second.
Need a news break? Check out the all new PLAY hub with puzzles, games and more!
Behind Cink were George McNeill at 6 under, Ian Poulter at 5 under and Retief Goosen, Paul Stankowski and Jamie Donaldson at 4 under.
2026 U.S. Senior Open leaderboard
Here’s the top of the board and then some notable finishers at Scioto:
Pos.NameScore1Padraig Harrington-122Stewart Cink-83George McNeill-64Ian Poulter-5T5Retief Goosen-4T5Jamie Donaldson-4T5Paul Stankowski-4T8Pat Perez-3T8Darren Clarke-3T8Miguel Angel Jimenez-3T11Ernie Els-2T31Michael Block+3T36Haymes Snedeker (a)+4Who are the winners on the PGA Tour Champions this season?Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai: Stewart CinkChubb Classic: David TomsJames Hardie Pro Football Hall of Fame Invitational: Zach JohnsonCologuard Classic: Steven AlkerHoag Classic: Stewart CinkSenior PGA Championship: Stewart CinkMitsubishi Electric Classic: Retief GoosenRegions Tradition: Stewart CinkInsperity Invitational: Boo WeekleyTrophy Hassan II: Scott HendAmerican Family Insurance Championship: Darren Clarke & Ben CranePrincipal Charity Classic: Zach Johnson