Pádraig Harrington insisted he could still give golf's young guns "trouble" after carding a third-round 67 at the U.S. Open.
The 51-year-old now splits his time between the DP World Tour, PGA TOUR and senior golf and has proven he can still mix it with the under-50s, finishing fourth at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship and tenth at the Valero Texas Open.
He is playing his first U.S. Open since 2013 this week at The Los Angeles Country Club by virtue of winning last season's U.S. Senior Open but is hopeful it will not be his last appearance at the event.
Pádraig Harrington first played the US Open in 1997.
— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) June 17, 2023
Yesterday, aged 51 he made the cut for the 13th time in 17 starts.#USOpen pic.twitter.com/9sYsqyxXxt
And in the same week that 13-year-old Louis Klein became the youngest player to make the cut on the European Challenge Tour at the Kaskáda Golf Challenge, Harrington was eager to keep taking on the younger generation.
"I saw a 13-year-old had qualified in the Czech Republic!" he said. "He was born after I won all my Majors!
"I am twice the age of plenty of kids out here but when I am on the golf course, I'll give them trouble.
"I am physically pretty good now. The standard around me has risen a lot. I feel good about myself but I noticed the first day - nobody in the field shot in the 80s. 25 years ago when I started playing U.S. Opens, 20 people were shooting in the 80s. Players are just better all-round.
"I've enjoyed it. It's an experience that I've enjoyed and I hope it's not my last."
