1988 U.S. Open (golf)


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.

Final round

Strange took the 54-hole lead after a third-round 69, while Faldo was a stroke behind after a 68. Strange and Faldo battled back-and-forth during the final round. Strange three-putted from on the 17th green to fall into a tie, then saved par from a greenside bunker on the 18th to force a Monday playoff.

Playoff

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.
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.
Strange successfully defended his title in 1989, the first to win consecutive U.S. Opens since Ben Hogan in 1950 and 1951. 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 layout

Composite Course
Hole123456789Out101112131415161718InTotal
Yards4521854483384393122013855103,2704394534504335274341853814383,7407,010
Par434444345354444543443671

Source:

Past champions in the field

Made the cut

Missed the cut

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Round summaries

First round

Thursday, June 16, 1988
PlacePlayerCountryScoreTo par
T1Bob Gilder68−3
T1Sandy Lyle68−3
T1Mike Nicolette68−3
T4Paul Azinger69−2
T4Seve Ballesteros69−2
T4Dick Mast69−2
T4Larry Mize69−2
T4Scott Simpson69−2
T9Craig Stadler70−1
T9Curtis Strange70−1
T9Lanny Wadkins70−1

Source:

Second round

Friday, June 17, 1988
Defending champion Scott Simpson shot 66 to lead after 36 holes.
PlacePlayerCountryScoreTo par
1Scott Simpson69-66=135−7
2Larry Mize69-67=136−6
T3Bob Gilder68-69=137−5
T3Curtis Strange70-67=137−5
T5Paul Azinger69-70=139−3
T5Fred Couples72-67=139−3
T5Nick Faldo72-67=139−3
T5Sandy Lyle68-71=139−3
T9Jay Haas73-67=140−2
T9D. A. Weibring71-69=140−2

Source:
Amateurs: Mayfair , Tolles, Duncan, Rintoul

Third round

Saturday, June 18, 1988
PlacePlayerCountryScoreTo par
1Curtis Strange70-67-69=206−7
T2Nick Faldo72-67-68=207−6
T2Bob Gilder68-69-70=207−6
T2Scott Simpson69-66-72=207−6
T5Larry Mize69-67-72=208−5
T5D. A. Weibring71-69-68=208−5
7Mark O'Meara71-72-66=209−4
8Fred Couples72-67-71=210−3
9Lanny Wadkins70-71-70=211−2
10Ken Green72-70-70=212−1

Source:

Final round

Sunday, June 19, 1988
PlacePlayerCountryScoreTo parMoney
T1Curtis Strange70-67-69-72=278−6Playoff
T1Nick Faldo72-67-68-71=278−6Playoff
T3Mark O'Meara71-72-66-71=280−441,370
T3Steve Pate72-69-72-67=280−441,370
T3D. A. Weibring71-69-68-72=280−441,370
T6Paul Azinger69-70-76-66=281−325,414
T6Scott Simpson69-66-72-74=281−325,414
T8Bob Gilder68-69-70-75=282−220,903
T8Fuzzy Zoeller73-72-71-66=282−220,903
T10Fred Couples72-67-71-73=283−117,870
T10Payne Stewart73-73-70-67=283−117,870

Source:
Amateur: Billy Mayfair

Scorecard

Cumulative tournament scores, relative to par
EagleBirdieBogeyDouble bogey

Cumulative tournament scores, relative to par
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Playoff

Monday, June 20, 1988
PlacePlayerCountryScoreTo parMoney
1Curtis Strange71E180,000
2Nick Faldo75+490,000

Scorecard

Cumulative playoff scores, relative to par
Source: