Padraig Harrington delivered a magnificent performance, firing a remarkable 64 to obliterate the course record and catapult himself to the pinnacle of the standings on the opening day of the Senior PGA Championship.
His exceptional performance has earned him a commanding two-stroke lead, firmly establishing him at the summit of the leaderboard. His eight birdies were split evenly between the front and back nine, leaving him at eight-under par, ahead of the chasing pack.
He holds a two-shot lead over Japan's Katsumasa Miyamoto, with YE Yang and Miguel Angel Jimenez.
Just seven days after his modest tie for 50th at the PGA Championship, Harrington set the new course record at the PGA of America's newly established Texas headquarters.
Padraig Harrington on why his round today was “an easy” 64. He leads the @seniorpgachamp by two shots. pic.twitter.com/augMwxYcgb
— Brad Townsend (@townbrad) May 25, 2023
"It was a good day," Harrington explained. "Everything worked well. I hit the ball well off the tee, particularly straight off the tee, which helps. I think I holed a couple of putts at the right time.
"I don't expect it to be like this for the next three days, but it was an easy 64. In some ways, the reason it was an easy 64 is because when you're playing with somebody like Rocco, there's always a bit of chat, and there's always a bit of fun going on, so you're quite relaxed.
"And that really does make a difference to how you feel about your shots and things like that. So it's something as professionals we always need to keep reminding ourselves, but when you get a situation like this, and it's showing again, you know, just being out there, chilling, telling stories, the odd joke.
"Rocco's caddie, he's caddied for the greats, so we were quizzing him as we were going around. So there was just plenty of conversation. And you end up shooting 64, and you go, oh, what, you know, you'd nearly forgotten about your score."
Play will resume later today.
