1987 U.S. Senior Open Winner and Scores

The 1987 U.S. Senior Open was the eighth time this major championship of men's senior (50-and-over) golf was played. Gary Player set tournament scoring records on the way to his victory.

Winner: Gary Player, 270

Where it was played: Brooklawn Country Club in Fairfield, Connecticut

Tournament dates: July 9-12, 1987

Leaders after first round: Peter Thomson, Gordon Jones, 66

Leader after second round: Chi Chi Rodriguez, 136

Leader after third round: Gary Player, 204

What Happened in the 1987 U.S. Senior Open

Gary Player took the lead in the third round and then raced to victory in the final round at the 1987 U.S. Senior Open. His winning total of 270 lowered the U.S. Senior Open scoring record by a whopping nine strokes. This was only the eighth time the tournament was played, but Player's 270 wasn't beaten until 2000.

Following the second round, Player trailed leader Chi Chi Rodriguez by one. But in the third round, Player scored 67 and Rodriguez 70, giving Player a two-stroke lead.

In the final round, Player closed with a 66, while Rodriguez fell back with a 71. Chi Chi wound up in third while Doug Sanders shot 65 to slip into second. But Player won by six, a new record for largest U.S. Senior Open margin of victory, a record that nobody matched until 2009 (and through 2026 nobody had yet beaten).

Player finished runner-up in his first U.S. Senior Open in 1986, and in 1988 he won again for back-to-back titles. Player, winner of the 1965 U.S. Open, was the third golfer to win both the U.S. Open and U.S. Senior Open, after Arnold Palmer and Billy Casper.

And it was Player's second senior major victory of the year. About a month earlier he won the 1987 Senior Players Championship. That made him the fourth golfer to win both those senior majors, but first to win both in the same year.

1987 U.S. Senior Open Final Scores

Gary Player	69-68-67-66—270
Doug Sanders	68-71-72-65—276
Chi Chi Rodriguez	68-68-70-71—277
Orville Moody	72-72-66-69—279
Don Massengale	69-70-70-71—280
Bob Brue	70-70-70-71—281
Dale Douglass	71-71-68-71—281
Harold Henning	72-69-70-71—282
Gene Borek	68-76-67-71—282
Peter Thomson	66-73-72-72—283
Larry Mowry	68-72-72-71—283
Walter Zembriski	70-70-71-72—283
Miller Barber	70-73-68-73—284
Bob Charles	73-68-68-76—285
Gordon Jones	66-75-73-71—285
John Brodie	67-70-74-74—285
Arnold Palmer	69-69-74-73—285
Fred Hawkins	70-71-75-70—286
Tommy Aaron	71-73-74-69—287
Butch Baird	70-73-72-72—287
Bobby Nichols	69-70-74-74—287
John Frillman	71-75-73-68—287
Bob Duden	74-74-71-69—288
Chuck Jones	69-72-74-73—288
Bob Bruno	75-70-73-71—289
Dick Hendrickson	71-73-74-71—289
Billy Maxwell	76-71-71-71—289
Dave Hill	71-74-71-73—289
J.C. Goosie	72-71-74-72—289
Jack Fleck	77-68-73-72—290
Gay Brewer	72-72-76-70—290
Joe Campbell	70-76-70-74—290
Ken Towns	74-74-70-72—290
Bob Rawlins	74-67-75-74—290
Walker Inman	69-73-73-76—291
Jerry Barber	69-77-74-71—291
Bruce Crampton	70-73-76-72—291
Billy Casper	75-72-70-74—291
Jim King	74-72-72-73—291
George Lanning	72-71-75-73—291
Ken Still	69-73-73-76—291
Bob Toski	70-79-71-72—292
a-Dennis Iden	73-75-75-69—292
Joe Lopez	73-74-69-77—293
Casmer Jawor	72-75-74-73—294
Al Chandler	74-73-72-75—294
a-Luther Godwin	73-73-77-72—295
Joe Jimenez	76-73-70-76—295
a-Robert Mowers	77-72-75-72—296
Don Hoenig	72-76-74-74—296
Paul Messner	74-73-75-75—297
Kel Nagle	76-73-72-76—297
Gene Thompson	72-75-75-75—297
Migual Sala	74-73-73-79—299
a-James Frost	72-75-73-79—299
a-Allan Sussell	75-72-75-78—300
a-Fordie Pitts	78-71-75-76—300
a-Bo Williams	71-72-77-81—301
a-Arthur Leon	71-77-78-75—301
Stan Jawor	72-75-80-77—304
Eddie Leonard	74-71-81-82—308
a-Alton Duhon	73-76-77-82—308

Sources:
PGA Tour. Senior PGA Tour Book 1988, Tournament Summaries, USGA Senior Open.
PGATour.com. U.S. Senior Open Championship, Past Results, https://www.pgatour.com/pgatour-champions/tournaments/2026/u.s-senior-open-championship/S2026512/past-results.
United States Golf Association. U.S. Senior Open, Tournament Records, https://championships.usga.org/content/championships/ussenioropen/u-s--senior-open-records.html.