Curtis Strange - Part 3 (Tour Wins and the 1988 U.S. Open)

Nobody, it was long said on the PGA TOUR, ever hated a bogey more than Curtis Strange. Although good to great with every club in the bag, it was the ferocity with which the Virginian played that will always be his signature. Strange’s intensity was his edge and led to back-to-back U.S. Open victories.

The first came at Brookline in 1988, when Strange led late only to three putt the 71st hole from 15 feet. When he hit his approach on the last into a greenside bunker, the man who had lost the 1985 Masters on the back nine seemed destined to never win a Major. But Strange got up and down to tie Nick Faldo, then defeated him with flawless golf the next day, 71 to 75.

“We only have so much energy, physically and mentally, to be the best.”
The following year at Oak Hill, Strange was an opportunist, staying in touch with the leaders with 15 straight pars on Sunday before taking the lead for the first time with a birdie on the 70th hole. He became the first man to win consecutive U.S. Opens since Ben Hogan in 1951.

Strange’s quest for the three in a row that would have tied the record of Willie Anderson fell short in 1990 at Medinah, where after a late challenge he faded to T21. The effort took something out of Strange. Although only 34 years old, he never won on the PGA TOUR again, finishing with 17 official victories. The flame that burned hotter than anyone else’s burned out. As he once said, “We only have so much energy, physically and mentally, to be the best.”

Born January 30, 1955, Strange was a child of golf. His father, Tom, was an ac… Read More