Curtis Strange

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]

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.

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.

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

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

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)

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]

• Spring 1977 PGA Tour Qualifying School graduates
• List of golfers with most PGA Tour wins

• 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