COLORADO SPRINGS — A few years ago, a new putter gave Thomas Bjorn a new life.
For at least two decades, a constant debate has ebbed and flowed across the shores of professional golf over the long putter. In 2013, the USGA announced a ban on “anchoring” — the act of pinning the club against one’s body while putting. But the usage of that longer short-club has persisted, and Bjorn begrudgingly made a switch from a shorter stick, hoping to extend a career that had never seen a major win.
There’ve been moments in recent years, though, where it’s felt too much for the longtime Danish professional. He second-guessed himself, constantly, with short-game questions rattling in the back of his head.
Should I go back to the short one? Should I try it?
“Middle of last year, I kind of made the decision — I’m 54 years old,” Bjorn recounted on Saturday. “I’m just going to try and not have that stress in my life, and try to enjoy the last few years I have where I can play and be competitive.”
For three days at the Broadmoor Golf Club, he’s wielded one of the more unorthodox putting techniques in the field, his left hand gently grasping a long putter as his right maneuvers farther down the shaft. Traditionally, it’s a choice that won’t win over many golfing fans. But on Saturday, Bjorn’s broom-like sweeping putts shot him up to second in the field in the U.S. Senior Open at 7-under par, a mere stroke behind the triumvirate of Mark Hensby, Padraig Harrington and Stewart Cink.
Quietly, Bjorn positioned himself near the top of the pack before the weekend, despite not running with that top group. And after six timely birdies Saturday — including three in his final six holes — he’s within striking distance of the first major win of his career in Sunday’s championship round.
Bjorn downplayed that significance when asked after his round Saturday.
“Victories come to you, and if it’s tomorrow, great,” Bjorn said. “If it’s not, then there’s another major in a few weeks, and then we’ll try again.”
Sunday, though, presents a prime opportunity to claim a crown in Colorado, after Bjorn worked his way up the leaderboard to step directly on the top group’s heels. Cink and Harrington, the two buddies who’ve fed off one another all week, threatened to pull away from the pack for stretches on the first nine. But Hensby — no TV camera crews close enough to bother him on this day — nailed a key eagle on the ninth hole to keep even.
It’s a chummy top group overall, with the Australian Hensby appearing to fit right in with longtime competitors Cink and Harrington. After a brief half-hour weather delay early, the group briefly forgot who was up on the tee because “we’d all made so many birdies,” Cink smiled.
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“I would love for that to be me.”
The 6-foot-4 Cink nailed one of the most impressive shots of the day, throwing up a fist-pump and sending the crowd abuzz after looping in a chip from the fringe on the sixth hole. As Harrington fell behind briefly on the back nine with a double-bogey on the 12th, though, the Irishman stole the last bit of momentum on the day.
After a tee shot that nearly fell beyond the ropes on the 18th hole, Harrington put himself back in position for a chip-shot birdie on a par-4 — and somehow nailed a heater from beyond the green, grinning ear-to-ear as the crowd roared.
“There’s a buzz out there,” Harrington said. “There’s a great atmosphere. It was special to hole out on the 18th.”
The final round of the Senior Open will kick off at 7 a.m. Sunday, with the Harrington-Cink-Hensby group teeing off at 8:50. But after they all finished in a three-way tie for the second day in a row, Harrington joked to his group-mates they could’ve all taken Saturday off and skipped right to Sunday.
“That’s why we do it,” Harrington said of the intrigue heading into the final round. “And that’s why we play the game, at this stage of our life.”
“We still like the idea of competing and hitting great shots,” he continued. “In some ways, when you’re playing out here on the Seniors, you’re reliving your past glories.”
Mark Hensby tees off the 14th during the third round of the 45th U.S. Senior Open Championship at The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs, Colorado, on Saturday, June 28, 2025. (Photo by Andy Cross/The Denver Post)Player-coach: When Andrew Sapp hits the road this summer on the recruiting trail, he’ll have a pretty good sell for junior golfers to play in the Big Ten.
Typically, the Purdue Boilermakers’ head golf coach only has time to play about three tournaments a summer, given necessary efforts to go scout and recruit players to his program. But he’s looked like a well-seasoned pro through three days at The Broadmoor, first making Friday’s cut at the Senior Open and then ending Saturday standing tied for 19th and 2-over.
“Overall, can’t complain too much,” Sapp grinned. “This isn’t my day job, so.”
His phone has been lighting up, Sapp said, with texts from current and former Purdue players as the former Michigan and UNC head coach tackles one of the toughest major courses across the country.
“I can definitely empathize with my players,” Sapp said, “because when you’re under the gun and you’re feeling the stress of a heated round in difficult conditions, I can definitely feel for them. So, I kind of understand what they go through very well.”
Locals: No native Coloradans are in serious contention for the Senior Open crown on their home turf, but those who made the cut are still holding their own. Denver-born Matt Gogel shot a 70 Saturday to remain at 1-over, and Brandt Jobe has put on an impressive comeback from injuries in sitting at 4-over. Shane Bertsch, who lives in Parker, shot a 72 to end the day at 5-over.
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