Ten of the 11 golfers who broke par on round one were among those in the afternoon wave. That included Mark Hensby and 68-year-old Jay Haas, both of whom carded 4-under-par 67s to share the lead. Haas, playing in his 17th U.S. Senior Open and 50th USGA championship overall, shot his age for the second time this year, and joined four others to do so in the U.S. Senior Open.
“No, we got a lot lucky,” said Haas, a three-time Senior Major Champion who has never missed a cut in the U.S. Senior Open, when asked if the 78-player afternoon group got the luck of the draw. “That was a big, big plus. I guess playing in the rain, the ball maybe goes a little shorter and everything, but it’s just the whole hassle of the umbrella and towels and keeping everything dry. That’s the thing that makes everything difficult.”
Hensby, who turns 51 on Wednesday, registered six birdies against two bogeys on day one. In his U.S. Senior Open debut last year at Omaha Country Club, the youngest competitor in the field played only 10 holes before withdrawing due to a medical issue. The owner of six professional wins, including the 2004 John Deere Classic on the PGA TOUR, doesn’t have full-time status on any tour. He did tie for eighth in last month’s KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship, and he qualified in Pearland, Texas, for the U.S. Senior Open.
Just behind Haas and Hensby on the leaderboard is 2019 U.S. Senior Open Champion Steve Stricker, Rocco Mediate, Tim Petrovic and 2021 Staysure PGA Seniors Championship winner Paul Broadhurst – each carded 68s.
Three-time major winner Padraig Harrington, who is making his U.S. Senior Open debut, scored a level par 71, and is alongside James Kingston (71), Markus Brier (71) and Jersey Legends winner Richard Green (71).
Round 2 will take place on Friday, with the low 60 scorers and ties advancing to the weekend.
U.S. Senior Open Round 1 Leaderboard:
View full leaderboard here.
