Saturday provided no separation, so the U.S. Senior Open will come down to the final round.

The trio of Stewart Cink, Padraig Harrington and Mark Hensby finished the third round tied at 8-under after starting their day tied in the lead at 6-under at The Broadmoor’s East Course.

Harrington rammed in a chip shot for birdie on No. 18 to rejoin the leading trio.

“I said to the three lads, we could have taken the day out and just gone out as the three leaders tomorrow,” said Harrington, a three-time major champion.

Sunday tee times for the U.S. Senior Open at The Broadmoor

The trio leads a dream leaderboard for the USGA that includes Thomas Bjorn in fourth at 7-under and standouts Miguel Angel Jimenez tied for sixth at 3-under and former world No. 1 Ernie Els tied for tenth at 1-under. For a championship that lost big names such as Fred Couples, David Love III and Colin Mongtomerie to late scratches, this is a best-case scenario.

The winner will receive $800,000, while second place takes $432,000. The overall purse is $4 million.

The third round included a 37-minute weather delay, and threat of storms on Sunday has prompted the start times to move up two hours. Play will begin at 7 a.m., with the threesome of Cink, Harrington and Hensby starting on the front at 8:50 a.m.

While Saturday started and finished with the leaders in the same spot, there was plenty of back-and-forth positioning on the course.

Cink and Harrington each shot 32 on the par-36 front nine to get to 10-under par, while Hensby needed an eagle on the par-5 ninth hole to get to 34. Hensby then birdied Nos. 13 and 14, while Cink had a pair of bogeys on the back and Harrington flubbed a chip in the deep rough en route to a double bogey on 12.

Hensby had a chance to take a solo lead when he hit his approach shot over a family of swans and near the pin on No. 18. But he two-putted for par and Harrington’s birdie readjusted the leaderboard.

Daily Dispatches: Weather continues to be a factor at U.S. Senior Open

Now, they’ll return to do it again with enormous stakes attached.

“The history of this course means something to me,” Cink said of the significance of the final round on a course where Golf Hall of Famers Jack Nicklaus, Annika Sorenstam and Juli Inkster all won USGA championships. “The fact that it’s a good old test of golf that’s hosted a lot of tournaments and produced great winners, not the least of which is one of my good friends, David Toms (the 2018 U.S. Senior Open champion), don’t leave him out. It would be great to join that list, but even more importantly, just to claim a USGA Championship, a Senior Open.

“It feels like a really big tournament. I love the energy in the crowd. It’s a really sporty golf course, and we’re having fun out there.”

For Hensby, whose one victory on the PGA Tour and another on the PGA Tour Champions can’t compare to the combined 17 PGA Tour wins and four majors owned by Cink and Harrington, Sunday could bring a double celebration.

His birthday is June 29, which technically occurred on Saturday in the United State for the Australian.

“I’ll celebrate (Sunday),” Hensby said after Saturday’s round that included four more birdies, bringing his championship-best tally to 19. “My family will call me tonight, I’m sure, but yeah, we’ll celebrate tomorrow.”

Harrington said the leading trio, which played together, enjoyed a camaraderie in their round. By making the chip on 18, he ensured he would again join the group that will be strictly business on Sunday.

“That’s why we do it,” Harrington said. “That’s why we play the game at this age of our life. We still like the idea of competing and hitting great shots. In some ways, when you’re playing out here on the Seniors, you’re reliving your past glories, and you hit some great shots that you once hit as a junior, and it feels good. We do hit a few of the other ones, too. But the whole thing of playing out here is for that thrill again.”