Padraig Harrington is going back to the Republic of Ireland a champion.

Harrington, 53, won his second U.S Senior Open title Sunday at The Broadmoor after also taking the title in 2022 at the Saucon Valley Old Course. In his first time in Colorado, Harrington managed to hold off Stewart Cink in the final stretch to win with a score of 11-under after shooting a 3-under round on Sunday.

Cink, 52, finished runner-up at 10-under while Spaniard Miguel Angel Jimenez, 61, made a late push but finished third with 9-under after shooting a bogey on hole 18.

“Winning, it’s all about winning,” Harrington said. “Every time you come back out and you win, the nerves are there, the tension’s there, you don’t want to mess up. So, yeah, it’s very exciting to come out here and win. But I think that winning a U.S. Senior Open or any tournament on the Champions Tour, it kind of validates your career. It validates the past in a lot of ways.”

Harrington, a three-time major champion during his prime, is the eighth player to win multiple U.S Senior Open championships.

After Harrington chipped-in for birdie at hole 18 on Saturday, there was a three-way tie at 8-under between Mark Hensby, Harrington, and Stewart Cink heading into the championship round Sunday. However, it quickly became a two-person battle between Harrington and Cink.

Cink started strong with four birdies in the first five holes, but then scored pars and one bogey before his next and final birdie on hole 14. Meanwhile, Harrington and Cink separated themselves from their opponents on the front nine with nine combined birdies.

“I was happy both Stewart and I got off to a good start,” Harrington said. “We made some birdies and got going. It was quite important not to let the field back into it. Then we kind of hit the wall, which is kind of to be expected around that turn. After that, I was nip and tuck with Stewart.”

After four holes, Harrington and Cink were tied at 10-under while Hensby was already back at 7-under. It was back and forth from there, and the familiar rivals were tied at 11-under at the turn.

Cink took the solo lead on No. 10 with a par and bogey from Harrington. But the Irishman responded with a birdie on the next hole to take the lead after Cink posted his second bogey of the day.

Meanwhile, Jimenez was looming close behind at 10-under through 16.

“I don’t watch leaderboards, so I think about through 13 holes I turned to my caddie and said, ‘is anybody else in this?’” Harrington said. “When he told me that Miguel was 9, that was worrying because he’s in a form that, if anybody is going to make some birdies, it’s Miguel.”

On No. 14, Cink sunk a long birdie putt to tie once again with Harrington at 11-under, but missed vital putts for birdie on Nos. 16 and 17 to allow Harrington a one-shot lead into the final hole.

“It’s frustrating because I hit really good iron shots there to put myself in position to get up there and force Harrington to make a little bit more of a heroic finish than just pars,” Cink said. “But it wasn’t to be. I don’t know, that’s Broadmoor for you. I wish I could have those two putts over.”

As the trio was finishing on hole 17, the scoreboards showed Jimenez had finished his round at 9-under, making him a non-threat for Harrington.

As Harrington walked up the fairway to the No. 18 greeb, he was greeted with a rousing applause from the crowd packed along the course and in the grandstands. Despite having two shots from six feet to win, Harrington knew that nothing was guaranteed at The Broadmoor.

“I was coming down 18, I said to my caddie Ronan, I said, ‘look, if I birdie this hole, I win. It takes all the permutations out of it,” Harrington said. “Ronan (Flood) then said something to remind me of something that Hale Irwin told me over the years. He said, ‘Always hit the shot you would hit if you’re one shot behind.’ And that kind of gave good clarity to what I was going to do.”

That decision was to hit it at the pin, and although he settled for par he was confident that he was doing the right thing and was all smiles as he left The Broadmoor’s East Course.

What made the win extra special was having his wife, Caroline, and one of his two sons there to watch, something that he didn’t get to experience when he was winning tournaments ‘back in the day.’

“They were there for some of them, but they were only little,” Harrington said. “Now they understand it. I suppose that’s another great thing about the Champions Tour and the Senior Tour. It gives us this opportunity to relive our past glories.”