1987 U.S. Open Winner and Scores
The 1987 U.S. Open was the 87th time the tournament was played. The champion claimed his trophy on the strength of a late birdie binge.
Winner: Scott Simpson, 277
Where it was played: Olympic Club in San Francisco, California
Tournament dates: June 18-21, 1987
Leader after first round: Ben Crenshaw, 67
Leader after second round: Tom Watson and Mark Wiebe, 137
Leader after third round: Tom Watson, 208
What Happened in the 1987 U.S. Open
Scott Simpson came from one stroke behind entering the final round to pip Tom Watson by one stroke. Watson was the third-round leader, but Simpson shot 68 in the final round to Watson's 70. The tide turned on the 14th through 16th holes, when Simpson reeled off three consecutive birdies to take the lead.Watson tied the tournament lead with a second-round 67, then took the outright lead with a third-round 71. Simpson was one stroke behind. Watson maintained his one-shot lead over Simpson through 13 holes of the final round. But then Simpson made those three consecutive birdies on Nos. 14, 15 and 16, passing Watson. Watson had a 45-foot birdie putt on the final hole to tie, but missed.
Seve Ballesteros finished five strokes behind Simpson, in third place. It was the third time in five years Ballesteros finished in the Top 5 at the U.S. Open, and proved to be the best finish of his career in this major. Forty-seven-year-old Jack Nicklaus was tied for second after two rounds, a stroke behind Watson, but collapsed on the weekend with rounds of 76 and 77. Nicklaus finished tied for 46th.
Simpson won seven times on the PGA Tour. Although he challenged at several other U.S. Opens — including a runner-up finish, via playoff, in the 1991 U.S. Open — his win here proved to be Simpson's only major championship title.
1987 U.S. Open Final Scores
| Scott Simpson | 71-68-70-68—277 |
| Tom Watson | 72-65-71-70—278 |
| Seve Ballesteros | 68-75-68-71—282 |
| Bobby Wadkins | 71-71-70-71—283 |
| Ben Crenshaw | 67-72-72-72—283 |
| Larry Mize | 71-68-72-72—283 |
| Curtis Strange | 71-72-69-71—283 |
| Bernhard Langer | 69-69-73-72—283 |
| Mac O'Grady | 71-69-72-72—284 |
| Jim Thorpe | 70-68-73-73—284 |
| Tommy Nakajima | 68-70-74-72—284 |
| Lennie Clements | 70-70-70-74—284 |
| Dan Pohl | 75-71-69-69—284 |
| Isao Aoki | 71-73-70-71—285 |
| Bob Eastwood | 73-66-75-71—285 |
| Tim Simpson | 76-66-70-73—285 |
| David Frost | 70-72-71-73—286 |
| Mark Calcavecchia | 73-68-73-72—286 |
| Nick Price | 69-74-69-74—286 |
| Jumbo Ozaki | 71-69-72-74—286 |
| Jim Woodward | 71-74-72-69—286 |
| Kenny Knox | 72-71-69-74—286 |
| Jodie Mudd | 72-75-71-68—286 |
| Steve Pate | 71-72-72-72—287 |
| Danny Edwards | 72-70-72-73—287 |
| Peter Jacobsen | 72-71-71-73—287 |
| Craig Stadler | 72-68-74-73—287 |
| Don Pooley | 74-72-72-69—287 |
| Jay Don Blake | 70-75-71-71—287 |
| John Mahaffey | 72-72-67-76—287 |
| Hal Sutton | 74-70-70-74—288 |
| Tony Sills | 71-70-75-72—288 |
| Ken Green | 71-74-75-68—288 |
| Dale Douglass | 70-73-69-76—288 |
| Keith Clearwater | 74-71-64-79—288 |
| Lanny Wadkins | 73-71-72-73—289 |
| Denis Watson | 69-74-72-74—289 |
| Sandy Lyle | 70-74-72-73—289 |
| Barry Jaeckel | 73-70-72-74—289 |
| Rodger Davis | 75-68-72-74—289 |
| John Cook | 70-68-76-75—289 |
| Scott Hoch | 72-70-77-70—289 |
| Wayne Grady | 73-70-74-73—290 |
| Raymond Floyd | 68-73-76-73—290 |
| Sam Randolph | 71-71-76-72—290 |
| Ralph Landrum | 72-71-74-74—291 |
| Fred Couples | 72-71-73-75—291 |
| Roger Maltbie | 73-73-75-70—291 |
| Tom Kite | 76-69-70-76—291 |
| Jack Nicklaus | 70-68-76-77—291 |
| Joey Sindelar | 75-71-75-71—292 |
| David Graham | 71-76-72-73—292 |
| Gil Morgan | 72-71-76-73—292 |
| Greg Norman | 72-69-74-77—292 |
| David Hobby | 77-70-73-72—292 |
| Ed Dougherty | 73-67-78-74—292 |
| Mark McCumber | 72-72-69-79—292 |
| Mike Smith | 73-71-74-75—293 |
| Duffy Waldorf | 74-69-75-75—293 |
| Eddie Kirby | 73-69-75-76—293 |
| Jack Renner | 73-73-71-76—293 |
| Mark Wiebe | 70-67-77-79—293 |
| Gene Sauers | 72-69-73-79—293 |
| Bob Gilder | 72-72-70-79—293 |
| Bob Lohr | 76-67-79-71—293 |
| Mark McNulty | 73-72-73-76—294 |
| Russ Cochran | 71-69-81-73—294 |
| Jose Maria Olazabal | 76-69-76-74—295 |
| Tom Purtzer | 74-73-77-71—295 |
| Bob Tway | 70-71-79-75—295 |
| Jim Carter | 75-72-75-74—296 |
| Donnie Hammond | 75-71-76-74—296 |
| Gary Hallberg | 71-72-69-85—297 |
| David Ogrin | 74-72-74-78—298 |
| Dave Eichelberger | 72-75-77-76—300 |
| Fred Wadsworth | 75-71-77-77—300 |
| Dave Rummells | 74-73-76-78—301 |
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