Padraig Harrington chipped in from 20 yards off the green on the 18th hole Saturday to salvage a floundering round and pull back into a tie for the lead with Stewart Cink and Mark Hensby at the U.S. Senior Open.

Harrington’s chip-in for birdie capped a round of 2-under 68 and put him in the same spot he was in to start — tied with the same two opponents he played with over another tricky day at the Broadmoor that included wind, rain, even a flash of lightning that pulled the players off the course for a half-hour.

“We could’ve taken the day off,” Harrington said as he shook hands to wrap up a day of twists and turns.

Hensby’s 68 included another four birdies, along with an eagle, to bring his total to 19 for the tournament.

But his best look of all — a 6-foot uphill attempt that on No. 18 that came as the course was still buzzing from Harrington’s shot — fell far off to the right and he settled for par.

Cink’s included a third shot on the par-3 16th that came from farther away than the second after a misread on a putt from just off the green curled some 30 feet away from the hole. Cink’s bogey there dropped him into a tie, and he finished with a pair of pars.

They were at 8-under 202. One shot behind the leaders was Thomas Bjorn, whose 66 matched the best round of the day and set up what appears to be a four-man fight for the title.

Steve Flesch (67) was next at 4 under and Steven Alker’s 66 left him at 3 under, tied with Miguel Angel Jimenez (68) and Paul Stankowski (67).

One more shot back was Billy Andrade (70), who collapsed in agony after his approach on No. 17, yet somehow still made par there.

That came about an hour after his tee shot on No. 13 slammed into a tree about 40 yards left of the tee box and came to rest in the closely mown strip of grass between the tee and the fairway.

Behind him, Harrington needed two chips from the deep rough on the par-3 12th and made a double bogey to fall out of the lead. Another bogey came on 15 when he babied a 5-foot par putt and it curled away well before the hole.

Harrington yanked his tee shot on 18 into the rough left of the fairway and he had no choice but to hack out over the lake and short of the green. But he turned a possible bogey into an unlikely birdie and guaranteed himself a spot in the final group Sunday, where he’ll try to add to the U.S. Senior Open title he won in 2022.

Potgieter leads Rocket Classic by 2 strokes

Aldrich Potgieter, standing on the practice green at Detroit Golf Club, said the most challenging part of his life was moving to Australia when he was 8 and returning to South Africa at age 17 because the COVID-19 pandemic limited his opportunities to compete.

Potgieter is about to face another test.

The PGA Tour’s youngest player and biggest hitter is going into the final round of the Rocket Classic with a two-shot lead, hoping to hold off a pack of players, including Collin Morikawa, for his first victory on the circuit.

“The leaderboard’s so stacked,” Potgieter said after he had five straight birdies in a 7-under 65 to surge into the lead Saturday.

The 20-year-old tour rookie started the week averaging 326.6 yards off the tee — several yards longer than Rory McIlroy — and credits his multi-sport childhood.

“I played a lot of sports, rugby, wrestling,” the 5-foot-11, 211-pound Potgieter said. “Kind of did everything as a kid. Didn’t just focus on golf, so that kind of helped me build that strong foundation.”

Max Greyserman (66), Jake Knapp (66), Mark Hubbard (67), Andrew Putnam (67) and Chris Kirk (69) were two shots back. Three more players were another stroke behind.

“As long as you’re kind of hanging around on Sunday, that’s what counts,” Greyserman said.

Collin Morikawa, the highest-ranked player in the field at No. 5 in the world, shot a 68 to start the final round four shots back. Two years ago in Detroit, he was outlasted by Rickie Fowler in a playoff. Morikawa, a two-time major champion, has not won on the tour since October 2023 at the Zozo Championship in Japan.

Schmelzel, Valenzuela team to take Dow Championship lead

Sarah Schmelzel and Albane Valenzuela took the third-round lead Saturday in the Dow Championship, shooting a 2-under 68 in alternate-shot play to move into position for their first LPGA Tour victories.

Schmelzel and Valenzuela had a 13-under 197 total at Midland Country Cup heading into the better-ball final round. They opened with an alternate-shot 68 on Thursday and had a best-ball 61 on Friday.

“You’re kind of on pins and needles most of the day, just hoping you don’t get your partner in trouble,” Schmelzel said. “Just super solid. I feel like we had really good attitudes throughout the entire day. I think both of us took every single shot as it came.”

Reed takes 3-shot lead at LIV Golf Dallas

Patrick Reed shot a 4-under 68 on Saturday to take a three-stroke lead at LIV Golf Dallas in a bid for his first victory on the Saudi-funded tour.

Tied for the first-round lead with 4Aces teammate Harold Varner III after an opening 67, Reed had six birdies and two bogeys to reach 9-under 135 at Maridoe Golf Club. The 34-year-old Reed won the 2018 Masters and has nine PGA Tour victories.