1988 U.S. Open: Strange Over Faldo
The 1988 U.S. Open was the 88th time the tournament was played. The outcome was settled in an 18-hole playoff between Curtis Strange and Nick Faldo.
Winner: Curtis Strange, 278
Where it was played: The Country Club at Brookline, Massachussetts
Tournament dates: June 16-20, 1988
Leader after first round: Mike Nicolette, Sandy Lyle and Bob Gilder, 68
Leader after second round: Scott Simpson, 135
Leader after third round: Curtis Strange, 206
What Happened in the 1988 U.S. Open
The 1988 U.S. Open was a battle between Nick Faldo and Curtis Strange. Strange, one of the top PGA Tour players, was seeking his first major trophy. Faldo, already a major champion at the 1987 British Open, was playing in the U.S. Open for just the second time. Strange took the lead with a third-round 69, and Faldo moved up into second with a third-round 68.In the final round, Strange shot 72 and Faldo 71, leaving the two tied atop the leaderboard. It appeared late that Strange might falter: He bogeyed the 17th hole to drop into a tie with Faldo. Then Strange hit into a bunker on the final hole, but he got up-and-down for par to preserve the tie.
So they returned to The Country Club composite course on Monday for an 18-hole playoff. Strange took a one-stroke lead after nine holes of the playoff, and improved that to a 3-shot lead after 13. The lead was two with four holes to play, but Faldo bogeyed three of those final four holes. In the end, Strange was the winner by four, 71 to 75.
Faldo went on to win five more majors, for six career major championship titles, but this was the closest he ever got to winning a U.S. Open. It was the 15th overall PGA Tour victory for Strange. He repeated as champion in the 1989 U.S. Open — the first back-to-back winner since Ben Hogan in 1950-51. After Strange, the next back-to-back U.S. Open winner didn't come until Brooks Koepka's wins in 2017-18.
Two-time U.S. Open winner Lee Trevino made the cut this year and finished tied for 40th. It was the last time Trevino made the cut in a U.S. Open. This was the third U.S. Open played at Brookline, at the previous two (1913 and 1963) also ended in playoffs.
1988 U.S. Open Final Scores
Playoff:Curtis Strange, 71
Nick Faldo, 75
| Curtis Strange | 70-67-69-72—278 |
| Nick Faldo | 72-67-68-71—278 |
| D.A. Weibring | 71-69-68-72—280 |
| Mark O'Meara | 71-72-66-71—280 |
| Steve Pate | 72-69-72-67—280 |
| Scott Simpson | 69-66-72-74—281 |
| Paul Azinger | 69-70-76-66—281 |
| Fuzzy Zoeller | 73-72-71-66—282 |
| Bob Gilder | 68-69-70-75—282 |
| Fred Couples | 72-67-71-73—283 |
| Payne Stewart | 73-73-70-67—283 |
| Andy Bean | 71-71-72-70—284 |
| Lanny Wadkins | 70-71-70-73—284 |
| Ben Crenshaw | 71-72-74-67—284 |
| Dan Pohl | 74-72-69-69—284 |
| Larry Mize | 69-67-72-76—284 |
| Hale Irwin | 71-71-72-71—285 |
| Mark McNulty | 73-72-72-68—285 |
| Raymond Floyd | 73-72-73-67—285 |
| Joey Sindelar | 76-68-70-71—285 |
| Scott Hoch | 71-72-71-72—286 |
| Chip Beck | 73-72-71-70—286 |
| Bob Eastwood | 74-72-69-71—286 |
| Peter Jacobsen | 76-70-76-64—286 |
| Craig Stadler | 70-73-71-73—287 |
| a-Billy Mayfair | 71-72-71-73—287 |
| Dave Barr | 73-72-72-70—287 |
| Jay Haas | 73-67-74-73—287 |
| Sandy Lyle | 68-71-75-73—287 |
| Mark Wiebe | 75-70-73-69—287 |
| Bob Tway | 77-68-73-69—287 |
| Mark McCumber | 72-72-71-73—288 |
| Seve Ballesteros | 69-74-72-73—288 |
| Tommy Nakajima | 74-72-69-73—288 |
| Ken Green | 72-70-70-76—288 |
| Tom Kite | 72-69-73-75—289 |
| David Ishii | 73-73-75-68—289 |
| Tom Watson | 74-71-69-75—289 |
| Mark Lye | 75-71-71-72—289 |
| Lee Trevino | 73-73-73-71—290 |
| Dan Halldorson | 72-71-74-73—290 |
| Nick Price | 72-74-71-73—290 |
| Danny Edwards | 72-73-74-71—290 |
| Chip Johnson | 72-72-76-70—290 |
| Clarence Rose | 75-71-68-76—290 |
| Mike Nicolette | 68-73-77-72—290 |
| Rodger Davis | 73-73-71-74—291 |
| David Graham | 77-69-74-71—291 |
| Kent Stauffer | 72-72-78-69—291 |
| Dick Mast | 69-75-75-73—292 |
| Buddy Gardner | 72-73-75-72—292 |
| Isao Aoki | 71-74-71-76—292 |
| John Cook | 73-68-78-73—292 |
| David Edwards | 76-69-75-73—293 |
| Roger Maltbie | 75-71-74-74—294 |
| Dennis Trixler | 72-73-76-73—294 |
| Kenny Perry | 74-71-77-72—294 |
| Jim Carter | 74-72-70-78—294 |
| Steve Bowman | 71-72-75-77—295 |
| Rob Wilkin | 74-71-77-73—295 |
| Jim Hallet | 72-74-77-73—296 |
| Mark Calcavecchia | 74-69-78-76—297 |
| Larry Nelson | 78-67-80-72—297 |
| Hal Sutton | 74-72-75-77—298 |
| Jerry Haas | 73-73-73-80—299 |
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1987 U.S. Open - 1989 U.S. Open