The 1988 U.S. Open was the 88th U.S. Open, held June 16–20 at The Country Club in Brookline, Massachusetts, a suburb southwest of Boston. Curtis Strange defeated Nick Faldo in an 18-hole playoff for the first of two consecutive U.S. Open titles.

1988 U.S. Open
Tournament information
DatesJune 16–20, 1988
LocationBrookline, Massachusetts
Course(s)The Country Club
Composite Course
Tour(s)PGA Tour
Statistics
Par71
Length7,010 yards (6,410 m)[1]
Field156 players, 65 after cut
Cut146 (+4)
Prize fundUS$1.0 million
Winner's share$180,000
Champion
United States Curtis Strange
278 (−6), playoff
← 1987
1989 →
The Country Club  is located in the United States
The Country Club 
The Country Club 
Location in the United States
The Country Club  is located in Massachusetts
The Country Club 
The Country Club 

Final round edit

Strange took the 54-hole lead after a third-round 69, while Faldo was a stroke behind after a 68.[2] Strange and Faldo battled back-and-forth during the final round. Strange three-putted from 15 feet (4.6 m) on the 17th green to fall into a tie, then saved par from a greenside bunker on the 18th to force a Monday playoff.[3][4][5]

Playoff edit

In the playoff, Strange carried a one-stroke lead to the turn after birdies at the 4th and 7th holes. When Faldo bogeyed the 11th, the lead went to two, but Strange bogeyed the next hole to return it to one. Strange rebounded with a birdie on 13 and took a commanding three-shot lead when Faldo bogeyed. Faldo bogeyed three of his last four holes to card a 75, while Strange finished with an even-par 71 and a four-stroke victory.[1][6][7]

This was the third U.S. Open at The Country Club and all ended in playoffs. Julius Boros, age 43, defeated Arnold Palmer and Jacky Cupit in 1963, and 20-year-old amateur Francis Ouimet prevailed over Britons Harry Vardon and Ted Ray in 1913.[3][8]

Strange successfully defended his title in 1989, the first to win consecutive U.S. Opens since Ben Hogan in 1950 and 1951.[9] Brooks Koepka became the first player since Strange to defend his title by winning the U.S. Open in 2017 at Erin Hills and again in 2018 at Shinnecock Hills.

Course edit

Composite Course

Hole Name Yards Par    Hole Name Yards Par
1 Polo Field 452 4 10 Stockton 439 4
2 Cottage 185 3 11 Primrose 1&2 453 4
3 Pond 448 4 12 Primrose 8 450 4
4 Hospital 338 4 13 Primrose 9 433 4
5 Newton 439 4 14 Quarry 527 5
6 Bakers 312 4 15 Liverpool 434 4
7 Plateau 201 3 16 Clyde 185 3
8 Corner 385 4 17 Elbow 381 4
9 Himalayas 510 5 18 Home 438 4
Out 3,270 35 In 3,740 36
Total 7,010 71

Source:[10]

Round summaries edit

First round edit

Thursday, June 16, 1988

Place Player Score To par
T1   Bob Gilder 68 −3
  Sandy Lyle
  Mike Nicolette
T4   Paul Azinger 69 −2
  Seve Ballesteros
  Dick Mast
  Larry Mize
  Scott Simpson
T9   Craig Stadler 70 −1
  Curtis Strange
  Lanny Wadkins

Source:[4][11]

Second round edit

Friday, June 17, 1988

Defending champion Scott Simpson shot 66 (−5) to lead after 36 holes.[12]

Place Player Score To par
1   Scott Simpson 69-66=135 −7
2   Larry Mize 69-67=136 −6
T3   Bob Gilder 68-69=137 −5
  Curtis Strange 70-67=137
T5   Paul Azinger 69-70=139 −3
  Fred Couples 72-67=139
  Nick Faldo 72-67=139
  Sandy Lyle 68-71=139
T9   Jay Haas 73-67=140 −2
  D. A. Weibring 71-69=140

Amateurs: Mayfair (+1), Tolles (+14), Duncan (+15), Rintoul (+16)

Source:[12][4][11]

Third round edit

Saturday, June 18, 1988

Place Player Score To par
1   Curtis Strange 70-67-69=206 −7
T2   Nick Faldo 72-67-68=207 −6
  Bob Gilder 68-69-70=207
  Scott Simpson 69-66-72=207
T5   Larry Mize 69-67-72=208 −5
  D. A. Weibring 71-69-68=208
7   Mark O'Meara 71-72-66=209 −4
8   Fred Couples 72-67-71=210 −3
9   Lanny Wadkins 70-71-70=211 −2
10   Ken Green 72-70-70=212 −1

Source:[2]

Final round edit

Sunday, June 19, 1988

Champion
Silver Cup winner (leading amateur)
(a) = amateur
(c) = past champion
Top 10
Place Player Score To par Money (US$)
T1   Curtis Strange 70-67-69-72=278 −6 Playoff
  Nick Faldo 72-67-68-71=278
T3   Mark O'Meara 71-72-66-71=280 −4 41,370
  Steve Pate 72-69-72-67=280
  D. A. Weibring 71-69-68-72=280
T6   Paul Azinger 69-70-76-66=281 −3 25,414
  Scott Simpson (c) 69-66-72-74=281
T8   Bob Gilder 68-69-70-75=282 −2 20,903
  Fuzzy Zoeller (c) 73-72-71-66=282
T10   Fred Couples 72-67-71-73=283 −1 17,870
  Payne Stewart 73-73-70-67=283

Source:[3][4][5]

Amateur: Billy Mayfair (+3)

Scorecard edit

Hole  1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8   9  10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18
Par 4 3 4 4 4 4 3 4 5 4 4 4 4 5 4 3 4 4
  Strange −7 −6 −5 −5 −5 −5 −6 −6 −6 −7 −7 −7 −7 −7 −7 −7 −6 −6
  Faldo −6 −6 −6 −6 −6 −6 −6 −6 −6 −6 −6 −6 −6 −6 −7 −6 −6 −6
  O'Meara −4 −3 −3 −3 −3 −3 −3 −3 −4 −5 −5 −5 −5 −5 −5 −5 −5 −4
  Pate +1 +1 +1 +1 +1 E −1 −1 −3 −4 −4 −4 −3 −3 −4 −4 −4 −4
  Weibring −5 −4 −4 −5 −6 −6 −6 −5 −5 −5 −5 −5 −5 −5 −5 −5 −4 −4
  Azinger +2 +2 +1 E +1 E −1 −2 −3 −3 −3 −3 −3 −3 −3 −4 −3 −3
  S Simpson −6 −6 −5 −3 −3 −3 −3 −3 −2 −2 −1 −2 −3 −3 −3 −3 −3 −3
  Gilder −5 −5 −5 −4 −4 −4 −3 −3 −4 −3 −3 −2 −2 −3 −2 −2 −1 −2
  Zoeller +3 +3 +3 +2 +1 +1 +1 +1 +1 +2 +1 +1 E −1 −1 −1 −2 −2
  Couples −3 −3 −3 −3 −3 −3 −3 −3 −4 −3 −1 −1 −1 −1 −1 −1 −1 −1
  Stewart +2 +2 +1 +1 +1 E E E E E +1 +1 E −1 E E −1 −1

Cumulative tournament scores, relative to par

Eagle Birdie Bogey Double bogey

Cumulative tournament scores, relative to par
Source:[4][11]

Playoff edit

Monday, June 20, 1988

Place Player Score To par Money (US$)
1   Curtis Strange 34-37=71 E 180,000
2   Nick Faldo 35-40=75 +4 90,000

Scorecard edit

Hole  1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8   9  10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18
Par 4 3 4 4 4 4 3 4 5 4 4 4 4 5 4 3 4 4
  Strange E E E +1 E E −1 −1 −1 −1 −1 E −1 −1 E E E E
  Faldo E E +1 +1 +1 +1 E E E E +1 +1 +2 +1 +2 +2 +3 +4

Cumulative playoff scores, relative to par

Birdie Bogey

Source:[6][10]

References edit

  1. ^ a b White, Gordon S. Jr. (June 21, 1988). "Strange wins Open for dad". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. (New York Times). p. C-1.
  2. ^ a b Boswell, Thomas (June 19, 1988). "Strange takes one-shot lead at 88th Open". Eugene Register-Guard. Oregon. (Washington Post). p. 1C.
  3. ^ a b c Parascenzo, Marino (June 20, 1988). "Strange Open tied, playoff today". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. 11.
  4. ^ a b c d e Bunch, Ken (June 20, 1988). "Strange, Faldo gain Open playoff". Milwaukee Sentinel. p. 1, part 2.
  5. ^ a b Boswell, Thomas (June 20, 1988). "U.S. Open title waits another Day". Eugene Register-Guard. Oregon. (Washington Post). p. 1C.
  6. ^ a b "Strange end to the Open comes at 13". Eugene Register-Guard. Oregon. (Los Angeles Times). June 21, 1988. p. 1D.
  7. ^ Reilly, Rick (June 27, 1988). "Strange finish". Sports Illustrated.
  8. ^ "U.S. Open history: 1988". USGA. Archived from the original on April 17, 2013. Retrieved June 22, 2012.
  9. ^ "U.S. Open history: 1989". USGA. Archived from the original on June 17, 2016. Retrieved June 22, 2012.
  10. ^ a b "U.S. Open: hole-by-hole". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. Associated Press. June 21, 1988.
  11. ^ a b c "U.S. Open History". USGA. Retrieved April 19, 2019.
  12. ^ a b Bonk, Thomas (June 18, 1988). "Simpson's no prophet, leads Open". Eugene Register-Guard. Oregon. (Los Angeles Times). p. 1C.

External links edit

42°18′54″N 71°08′53″W / 42.315°N 71.148°W / 42.315; -71.148