Mark Hensby claims share of Day 1 lead at U.S. Senior Open despite rough finish

COLORADO SPRINGS As storm clouds began to poke their heads over Cheyenne Mountain Mark Hensby slumped into his seat at a podium up the range from the Broadmoor Golf Club the unlikely early face of Thursday s U S Senior Open His own face though twisted with torment Two hours before as blue skies smiled on early strokes in the Springs Hensby s putter was golden His demeanor as he strolled up and down early fairways was sunny This was a class whose greens have tested specific of the best men in this profession but this was a man who d faced much tougher tests in life who d once spent his nights sleeping in his car at a golf subject in Chicago three decades ago Through nine holes Hensby buried a stunning seven birdies And then he wiggled into his stance on the th hole tapped a massive putt a hair too off-kilter and walked off the green rubbing the back of his hat in clear dismay It s just frustrating Hensby reported a sparse minutes later I played like expletive the back nine What else can you say An early -under far clearing the rest of the field shrank to a -under with a couple of shanked bogeys Hensby finished with a good enough to tie for the day s lead with Irish mainstay Padraig Harrington in a group of former Masters winners and U S Open champions But Hensby walked away lamenting a insufficient strokes he d left on the grass a standout first day reduced to merely a great one I m hot or cold and that kind of sucks Hensby revealed Certain shots I keep hitting during rounds it just pisses me off so to speak So yeah the back nine was just kind of a bit of that Forces greater than Hensby s own unpredictability though were at play on grassy slopes born from the natural curve of Cheyenne A field of luminaries at the Senior Open got their first taste of a different planet Thursday one where Earth s gravity doesn t quite apply putts stopping strangely short or rolling strangely long in a cruel demonstration of Newton s First Law On a shot on the th hole Australian golfer Stuart Appleby softly tapped a putt that trickled just past the cup and then continued to drift a limited feet beyond to kiss the rough Appleby waved his arm out at his ball outstretched as if to question its movement That s one of the unique challenges of this subject with the slope the whole thing is on a big slant announced Stewart Cink who tied for third Thursday at a two-under The greens when they have moisture in them it s hard to predict what it does when it lands That unpredictability played out the majority prominently on the back nine as a variety of entrants struggled to solve both physics and several challenging holes down the stretch Harrington noted there were a pair of par- holes on the front end of the unit and none with little room for conservative play on the back half There s a huge difference between the two nines to be honest Harrington revealed Thursday Amateur golfer Dan Sullivan tees off to starts his first round of the th U S Senior Open Championship at The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs Colorado on Thursday June Photo by Andy Cross The Denver Post The three-time major champion proved a mighty challenger to Hensby s mark Thursday The -year-old Irishman is still built like a boxer and his driver boomed and his putter whispered for holes He was squarely in position to seize the day at four under But on the th the back-nine struck A drive veered hard left over the green over the rough deep into the forest at The Broadmoor Harrington his caddy and fellow golfers Cink and Justin Leonard trampled through thickets beyond the green like a trio of senior-aged Goonies Harrington peering helplessly into reeds and bushes before re-teeing and accepting a penalty stroke for a lost ball Related Articles Justin Leonard former Aspen resident happy to be back in Colorado at U S Senior Open It s a beautiful place Longtime Colorado natives Matt Schalk Shane Bertsch have homecomings at U S Senior Open U S Senior Open Championship s return to The Broadmoor marks latest chapter in club s storied golf history You never feel good after you ve lost a ball Harrington recounted so your head s a little scrambled A subsequent bogey sank his count to that eventual as Harrington still received a smattering of claps from lingering fans near the th hole He was pushed by group-mate Cink who solved the final stretch as good as any other in the field dropping in birdies on the th and th Being four-under as opposed to three ultimately makes little difference on Day of a four-day Senior Open as Harrington noted But Hensby and Harrington despite struggles on the back-end did enough to push themselves to the front of the pack in a fascinating group chess match at The Broadmoor A lot of this Harrington reported is jockeying just to be in position on Sunday Want more sports news Sign up for the Sports Omelette to get all our analysis on Denver s teams