Curtis Strange

Curtis Strange
Curtis Strange
Personal information
Full name	Curtis Northrup Strange
Born	January 30, 1955 (age 69); Norfolk, Virginia, U.S.
Height	5 ft 11 in (180 cm)
Weight	180 lb (82 kg; 13 st)
Sporting nationality	United States
Spouse	Sarah Strange
Children	2 sons
Career
College	Wake Forest University
Turned professional	1976
Former tour(s)	PGA Tour ; Champions Tour
Professional wins	29
Highest ranking	3 (June 19, 1988)
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour	17
European Tour	2
Japan Golf Tour	1
PGA Tour of Australasia	3
Other	8
Best results in major championships; (wins: 2)
Masters Tournament	T2: 1985
PGA Championship	T2: 1989
U.S. Open	Won: 1988, 1989
The Open Championship	T13: 1988
Achievements and awards
World Golf Hall of Fame
World Golf Hall of Fame	2007 (member page)
Haskins Award	1974
PGA Tour; money list winner	1985, 1987, 1988
PGA Player of the Year	1988

Last updated November 28, 2024

Curtis Northrup Strange (born January 30, 1955) is an American professional golfer and TV color commentator. He is the winner of consecutive U.S. Open titles and a member of the World Golf Hall of Fame and Virginia Sports Hall of Fame. He spent over 200 weeks in the top-10 of the Official World Golf Ranking between their debut in 1986 and 1990.^[2]

Amateur career

Strange and his identical twin brother, Allan,^[3] were born in Norfolk, Virginia.^[4] His father, a local country club owner, started him in golf at age 7.^[3] Strange graduated from Princess Anne High School in Virginia Beach, then enrolled at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. He played golf for the Demon Deacons and was part of the NCAA Championship team with Jay Haas and Bob Byman that Golf World has labeled "the greatest of all time".^[5] In 1974 Strange was ranked the #2 amateur in the country by Golf Digest . The following year, he was ranked number #3.

In the spring of 1976, Strange intended to transition from amateur to professional despite still being a junior in college. At this point, he was known for having one of the best amateur careers of all time. According to the golf columnist for The Charlotte Observer , Richard Sink, "Strange, only a junior, will leave behind a collegiate record perhaps unmatched." He finished in the top ten in all of his 25 college matches and finished in the top 5 in 21 of those. He won nine individual events and was the youngest NCAA Champion in golf at the time.^[6] In 1976, he was ranked #9 amateur in the country by Golf Digest .^[7]

Professional career

Strange was one of the leading players on the PGA Tour in the 1980s; 16 of his 17 tour victories took place in that decade. He topped the money list in 1985, 1987, and 1988, when he became the first to win a million dollars in official money in a season. His two majors were consecutive U.S. Opens in 1988 and 1989. Since World War II, only three golfers have successfully defended their titles at the U.S. Open; Brooks Koepka in 2018, Strange in 1989, and Ben Hogan in 1951. The 1989 U.S. Open was Strange's last win on tour. In other majors, he led midway through the final round at The Masters in 1985, but finished two strokes back. Strange was also a runner-up at the PGA Championship in 1989, one stroke back. He played on five Ryder Cup teams (1983, 1985, 1987, 1989, and 1995) and captained the team in 2002.^[3]

Despite skipping the Open Championship several times in his prime,^[8] Strange played a considerable amount of international tournaments. He won the 1986 ABC Japan-U.S. Match, an event on the Japan Golf Tour that included many American pros. He also played extensively on the Australasian Tour. He won three events in Australia in the late 1980s and early 1990s and recorded runner-up finishes at the 1976 Australian Open,^[9] 1977 Colgate Champion of Champions, 1986 Air New Zealand Shell Open, and the 1990 Daikyo Palm Meadows Cup. Like Henrik Stenson and Ben Hogan, Strange was a natural left-hander who played right-handed.

Later career and honors

After reaching the age of 50 in January 2005, Strange began play on the Champions Tour, remarking, "I was getting worse and said, 'To hell with it.'"^[10] His only top-five finishes came that first season; third place at the Constellation Energy Classic and a tie for fifth at the FedEx Kinko's Classic.^[3] In 1997, he was hired as the lead golf analyst for ESPN/ABC, working alongside host Mike Tirico. He left due to a contract dispute before the 2004 U.S. Open, but rejoined ESPN/ABC at the 2008 U.S. Open, four years after he first left. In 2016, he was hired by Fox as a course reporter for their USGA championships.^[11]

In this capacity he has provided commentary for several notable events, including Tiger Woods' playoff win at the 1997 Mercedes Championships, David Duval's final round of 59 at the 1999 Bob Hope Chrysler Classic, Jean van de Velde's collapse at the 1999 Open Championship, Woods achieving the career grand slam at the 2000 Open Championship, Peter Jacobsen becoming one of the oldest Tour winners at age 49 during the 2003 Greater Hartford Open, Woods' U.S. Open winning performance in 2008 (early rounds), Tom Watson nearly winning The Open Championship at age 59 in 2009, and Phil Mickelson's final nine charge to win in 2013. On April 18, 2007, Strange was elected to the World Golf Hall of Fame, and was inducted on November 12 at the World Golf Village in St. Augustine, Florida. In May 2009, he was named to the Hampton Roads Sports Hall of Fame, which honors athletes, coaches and administrators who contributed to sports in southeastern Virginia.

Amateur wins

1974 Western Amateur, North and South Amateur, NCAA Division I Championship
1975 North and South Amateur, Eastern Amateur

Professional wins (29)

PGA Tour wins (17)

Legend
Major championships (2)
Tour Championships (1)
Other PGA Tour (14)

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	To par	Margin of victory	Runner(s)-up
1	Oct 21, 1979	Pensacola Open	69-71-62-69=271	−17	1 stroke	Billy Kratzert
2	May 4, 1980	Michelob-Houston Open	66-63-66-71=266	−18	Playoff	Lee Trevino
3	Aug 17, 1980	Manufacturers Hanover Westchester Classic	69-65-70-69=273	−11	2 strokes	Gibby Gilbert
4	Aug 21, 1983	Sammy Davis Jr.-Greater Hartford Open	69-62-69-68=268	−16	1 stroke	Jay Haas, Jack Renner
5	Sep 30, 1984	LaJet Golf Classic	68-67-67-71=273	−15	2 strokes	Mark O'Meara
6	Mar 3, 1985	Honda Classic	67-64-70-74=275	−13	Playoff	Peter Jacobsen
7	Mar 24, 1985	Panasonic Las Vegas Invitational	69-73-64-66-66=338	−17	1 stroke	Mike Smith
8	Jul 7, 1985	Canadian Open	69-69-68-73=279	−9	2 strokes	Jack Nicklaus, Greg Norman
9	Apr 27, 1986	Houston Open (2)	72-68-68-66=274	−14	Playoff	Calvin Peete
10	Jul 5, 1987	Canadian Open (2)	71-70-66-69=276	−12	3 strokes	David Frost, Jodie Mudd, Nick Price
11	Aug 2, 1987	Federal Express St. Jude Classic	70-68-68-69=275	−13	1 stroke	Russ Cochran, Mike Donald, Tom Kite, Denis Watson
12	Aug 30, 1987	NEC World Series of Golf	70-66-68-71=275	−5	3 strokes	Fulton Allem
13	May 1, 1988	Independent Insurance Agent Open	69-68-66-67=270	−18	Playoff	Greg Norman
14	May 29, 1988	Memorial Tournament	73-70-64-67=274	−14	2 strokes	David Frost, Hale Irwin
15	Jun 20, 1988	U.S. Open	70-67-69-72=278	−6	Playoff	Nick Faldo
16	Nov 14, 1988	Nabisco Championship	64-71-70-74=279	−9	Playoff	Tom Kite
17	Jun 18, 1989	U.S. Open (2)	71-64-73-70=278	−2	1 stroke	Chip Beck, Mark McCumber, Ian Woosnam

PGA Tour playoff record (6–3)

No.	Year	Tournament	Opponent(s)	Result
1	1980	Michelob-Houston Open	Lee Trevino	Won with birdie on first extra hole
2	1981	Tournament Players Championship	Raymond Floyd, Barry Jaeckel	Floyd won with par on first extra hole
3	1983	Joe Garagiola-Tucson Open	Gil Morgan, Lanny Wadkins	Morgan won with birdie on second extra hole
4	1985	Honda Classic	Peter Jacobsen	Won with par on first extra hole
5	1986	Houston Open	Calvin Peete	Won with birdie on third extra hole
6	1988	Independent Insurance Agent Open	Greg Norman	Won with birdie on third extra hole
7	1988	U.S. Open	Nick Faldo	Won 18-hole playoff; Strange: E (71), Faldo: +4 (75)
8	1988	Nabisco Championship	Tom Kite	Won with birdie on second extra hole
9	1991	Doral-Ryder Open	Rocco Mediate	Lost to birdie on first extra hole

PGA of Japan Tour wins (1)

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	To par	Margin of victory	Runner-up
1	Nov 2, 1986	ABC Japan-U.S. Match	67-68-72-64=271	−17	4 strokes	Chip Beck

PGA Tour of Australasia wins (3)

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	To par	Margin of victory	Runner-up
1	Jan 10, 1988	Sanctuary Cove Classic	67-70-67-68=272	−16	1 stroke	Ian Woosnam
2	Jan 15, 1989	Daikyo Palm Meadows Cup	66-70-71-73=280	−8	2 strokes	Raymond Floyd
3	Dec 5, 1993	Greg Norman's Holden Classic	68-67-69-70=274	−18	2 strokes	John Wade

PGA Tour of Australasia playoff record (0–1)

No.	Year	Tournament	Opponent	Result
1	1990	Daikyo Palm Meadows Cup	Rodger Davis	Lost to eagle on second extra hole

South American Golf Circuit wins (1)

1981 Panama Open

Other wins (7)

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	To par	Margin of victory	Runner(s)-up
1	Oct 5, 1980	Laurent-Perrier Trophy	62-70-68-68=268	−20	12 strokes	Bobby Clampett
2	Dec 14, 1980	JCPenney Mixed Team Classic (with Nancy Lopez)	70-65-67-66=268	−20	2 strokes	Gibby Gilbert and Sandra Spuzich, Lori Garbacz and Craig Stadler
3	Aug 19, 1986	Fred Meyer Challenge (with Peter Jacobsen)	64	−8	Shared title with Greg Norman and Gary Player
4	May 26, 1989	PGA Grand Slam of Golf	73	+1	2 strokes	Craig Stadler
5	Nov 19, 1989	RMCC Invitational (with Mark O'Meara)	66-62-62=190	−26	6 strokes	Bernhard Langer and John Mahaffey, Lanny Wadkins and Tom Weiskopf
6	Nov 26, 1989	Skins Game	$265,000		$175,000	Jack Nicklaus
7	Nov 25, 1990	Skins Game (2)	$220,000		$130,000	Greg Norman

Major championships

Wins (2)

Year	Championship	54 holes	Winning score	Margin	Runner(s)-up
1988	U.S. Open	1 shot lead	−6 (70-67-69-72=278)	Playoff¹	Nick Faldo
1989	U.S. Open (2)	3 shot deficit	−2 (71-64-73-70=278)	1 stroke	Chip Beck, Mark McCumber, Ian Woosnam

¹Defeated Faldo in 18-hole playoff; Strange: 71 (E), Faldo: 75 (+4).

Results timeline

Tournament	1975	1976	1977	1978	1979
Masters Tournament	CUT	T15 LA	CUT
U.S. Open			CUT
The Open Championship		CUT
PGA Championship				T58	CUT

Tournament	1980	1981	1982	1983	1984	1985	1986	1987	1988	1989
Masters Tournament	CUT	T19	T7	CUT	T46	T2	T21	T12	T21	T18
U.S. Open	T16	T17	T39	T26	3	T31	CUT	T4	1	1
The Open Championship			T15	T29			T14		T13	T61
PGA Championship	T5	T27	T14	86	CUT	CUT	CUT	9	T31	T2

Tournament	1990	1991	1992	1993	1994	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999
Masters Tournament	T7	T42	T31	WD	T27	9	CUT
U.S. Open	T21	CUT	T23	T25	4	T36	T27	CUT	CUT	CUT
The Open Championship	CUT	T38	CUT			CUT	T72	T44	T19
PGA Championship	CUT	WD	CUT	CUT	T19	T17	T26	CUT

Tournament	2000	2001	2002
Masters Tournament
U.S. Open	CUT
The Open Championship
PGA Championship	T58	CUT	CUT

Win

Top 10

Did not play

LA = Low amateur
CUT = missed the halfway cut
WD = withdrew
"T" indicates a tie for a place.

Summary

Tournament	Wins	2nd	3rd	Top-5	Top-10	Top-25	Events	Cuts made
Masters Tournament	0	1	0	1	4	10	20	14
U.S. Open	2	0	1	5	5	10	22	15
The Open Championship	0	0	0	0	0	4	13	9
PGA Championship	0	1	0	2	3	6	23	12
Totals	2	2	1	8	12	30	78	50

Most consecutive cuts made – 13 (1987 Masters – 1990 U.S. Open)
Longest streak of top-10s – 2 (twice)

Results in The Players Championship

Tournament	1978	1979	1980	1981	1982	1983	1984	1985	1986	1987	1988	1989	1990	1991	1992	1993	1994	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999
The Players Championship	CUT	CUT	21	T2	T51	T8	T33	T33	CUT	CUT	DQ	T34	T16	T6	WD	CUT	CUT	T23	CUT	CUT	CUT	T23

Top 10

CUT = missed the halfway cut
WD = withdrew
DQ = disqualified
"T" indicates a tie for a place

U.S. national team appearances

Amateur

Eisenhower Trophy: 1974 (winners)
Walker Cup: 1975 (winners)

Professional

Ryder Cup: 1983 (winners), 1985, 1987, 1989 (tied), 1995, 2002 (non-playing captain)
Dunhill Cup: 1985, 1987, 1988, 1989 (winners), 1990, 1991, 1994
Four Tours World Championship: 1985 (winners), 1987 (winners), 1988 (winners), 1989 (winners)
UBS Cup: 2001 (winners), 2002 (winners), 2003 (tie), 2004 (winners)

Equipment

In 1988 when Strange won the U.S. Open, Ping recognized him with a golden putter replica of the Ping Zing 2 he used to win. A second one was made and placed in the Ping Gold Putter Vault.^[12]

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References

↑ "Week 25 1988 Ending 19 Jun 1988" (pdf). OWGR . Retrieved December 20, 2018.
↑ "69 Players Who Have Reached The Top-10 In World Ranking". Official World Golf Ranking. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 17, 2015. Retrieved December 20, 2013.
1 2 3 4 "PGA Tour Media Guide – Curtis Strange" . Retrieved December 20, 2013.
↑ "PGA Tour Profile – Curtis Strange" . Retrieved December 20, 2013.
↑ Yocom, Guy (February 2005). "My Shot: Curtis Strange". Golf Digest. Archived from the original on March 5, 2005.
↑ "Wake Defends NCAA Title..." The Charlotte Observer. June 6, 1976. p. 31. Retrieved July 4, 2021– via newspapers.com.
↑ "Dunaway Finds His Game..." The Charlotte Observer. January 30, 1977. p. 56. Retrieved July 3, 2021– via newspapers.com.
↑ Yocom, Peter (July 7, 2007). "My Shot: Curtis Strange". Golf Digest. Retrieved April 25, 2019.
↑ Peter, Thomson (November 1, 1976). "Par for the course for Jack". The Age. p. 33. Retrieved January 9, 2020.
↑ Apfelbaum, Jim, ed. (2007). The Gigantic Book of Golf Quotations. Skyhorse Publishing. ISBN 978-1-60239-014-0.
↑ "Fox Sports Signs Curtis Strange". Golf.com.
↑ "6 fascinating stories from Ping's Gold Putter Vault". PGA Tour. January 10, 2019. Retrieved February 8, 2019.

External links

Curtis Strange at the PGA Tour official site
Curtis Strange at the Japan Golf Tour official site
Curtis Strange at the Official World Golf Ranking official site
Curtis Strange at the World Golf Hall of Fame

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[w198825-1] "Week 25 1988 Ending 19 Jun 1988" (pdf). OWGR . Retrieved December 20, 2018.

[2] "69 Players Who Have Reached The Top-10 In World Ranking". Official World Golf Ranking. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 17, 2015. Retrieved December 20, 2013.

[pgabio-3] 1 2 3 4 "PGA Tour Media Guide – Curtis Strange" . Retrieved December 20, 2013.

[pgapro-4] "PGA Tour Profile – Curtis Strange" . Retrieved December 20, 2013.

[5] Yocom, Guy (February 2005). "My Shot: Curtis Strange". Golf Digest. Archived from the original on March 5, 2005.

[6] "Wake Defends NCAA Title..." The Charlotte Observer. June 6, 1976. p. 31. Retrieved July 4, 2021– via newspapers.com.

[7] "Dunaway Finds His Game..." The Charlotte Observer. January 30, 1977. p. 56. Retrieved July 3, 2021– via newspapers.com.

[8] Yocom, Peter (July 7, 2007). "My Shot: Curtis Strange". Golf Digest. Retrieved April 25, 2019.

[9] Peter, Thomson (November 1, 1976). "Par for the course for Jack". The Age. p. 33. Retrieved January 9, 2020.

[10] Apfelbaum, Jim, ed. (2007). The Gigantic Book of Golf Quotations. Skyhorse Publishing. ISBN 978-1-60239-014-0.

[11] "Fox Sports Signs Curtis Strange". Golf.com.

[12] "6 fascinating stories from Ping's Gold Putter Vault". PGA Tour. January 10, 2019. Retrieved February 8, 2019.

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