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Curtis Strange

United States · born , Norfolk, Virginia, USA

2major championships

Summary

  • First major 1988 U.S. Open
  • Last major 1989 U.S. Open
  • Ryder Cup 5 Cups · 6-12-2 · 7 points (35.0%)
  • Ryder Cup captain 2002
  • Runner-up in majors 2 times

Wins

  1. 1988 U.S. Open The Country Club · 278 (-6) · won a playoff against Nick Faldo
  2. 1989 U.S. Open Oak Hill C.C. · 278 (-2) · by 1 stroke from Chip Beck, Mark McCumber and Ian Woosnam

Near misses

  1. 1985 The Masters Augusta National Golf Club · runner-up to Bernhard Langer · 284
  2. 1989 PGA Championship Kemper Lakes Golf Club · runner-up to Payne Stewart · 277

Ryder Cup

5 Cups, 20 matches: 6 won, 12 lost, 2 halved, 7 points. Foursomes 4-4-1, four-ball 0-5-1, singles 2-3-0.

  1. 1983 PGA National Golf Club USA · USA won 14.5–13.5 · 1-2-0, 1 point · automatic
  2. 1985 The Belfry (Brabazon Course) USA · Europe won 16.5–11.5 · 2-1-1, 2.5 points · automatic
  3. 1987 Muirfield Village Golf Club USA · Europe won 15–13 · 2-3-0, 2 points · automatic
  4. 1989 The Belfry (Brabazon Course) USA · tied 14–14 · 1-3-1, 1.5 points · automatic
  5. 1995 Oak Hill Country Club (East Course) USA · Europe won 14.5–13.5 · 0-3-0, 0 points · captain's pick
  6. 2002 Captain USA · lost 12.5–15.5

Rivals

Beat him

Beaten in finals and playoffs

Ryder Cup partners

Ryder Cup opponents

Next in the chain: Bernhard Langer's rivals →

Moments

  1. 1985 Ryder Cup On Saturday morning Craig Stadler missed a putt of about 2 feet on 18 that would have won his fourball with Curtis Strange. Langer/Lyle got a half, the score went to 6–6, and Jacklin called it the turning point.

Results by championship

    Best day

    1989 U.S. Open

    Oak Hill C.C., Rochester, NY · 278 (-2) · by 1 stroke from Chip Beck, Mark McCumber and Ian Woosnam

    Chosen by rule: his widest winning margin in a major. Year page: 1989.

    Career line, 1983–1995

    Masters
    1985 Masters: runner-up to Bernhard Langer
    PGA Championship
    1989 PGA Championship: runner-up to Payne Stewart
    U.S. Open
    1988 U.S. Open: won1989 U.S. Open: won
    Ryder Cup
    1983 Ryder Cup (USA): 1-2-01985 Ryder Cup (USA): 2-1-11987 Ryder Cup (USA): 2-3-01989 Ryder Cup (USA): 1-3-11995 Ryder Cup (USA): 0-3-0
    198519901995

    9 results. Hover or tap a mark; click it for the year.

    • Major win
    • Runner-up
    • Ryder Cup, USA

    Curtis Strange was born on January 30, 1955, in Norfolk, Virginia, USA. Strange won 2 major championships: 2 U.S. Opens (1988, 1989). Strange played in 5 Ryder Cups for USA (1983, 1985, 1987, 1989, 1995), winning 6, losing 12 and halving 2 of 20 matches for 7 points, and captained the side in 2002.

    See Curtis Strange in our rooms: The Masters, U.S. Open, Greatest Golfer by State and Every Ground.

    Cards you pull this visit stack here. Tap one to go back to it.

    The record

    Wins in the majors (2)

    1. 1988 U.S. Open The Country Club, Brookline, MA · 278 (-6) · won a playoff against Nick Faldo (18 holes, 71–75)
    2. 1989 U.S. Open Oak Hill C.C., Rochester, NY · 278 (-2) · by 1 stroke from Chip Beck, Mark McCumber and Ian Woosnam

    Near misses

    1. 1985 The Masters Augusta National Golf Club · runner-up to Bernhard Langer · 284
    2. 1989 PGA Championship Kemper Lakes Golf Club · runner-up to Payne Stewart · 277

    U.S. Open top-10 finishes in his career: 5 (GNN U.S. Open room data).

    Ryder Cup

    Strange played 5 Ryder Cups for USA: 20 matches, 6 won, 12 lost, 2 halved, 7 points (35.0% of those available). By format: foursomes 4-4-1, four-ball 0-5-1, singles 2-3-0 (won-lost-halved).

    1. 1983 PGA National Golf Club USA · USA won 14.5–13.5 · 1-2-0, 1 point · automatic
    2. 1985 The Belfry (Brabazon Course) USA · Europe won 16.5–11.5 · 2-1-1, 2.5 points · automatic
    3. 1987 Muirfield Village Golf Club USA · Europe won 15–13 · 2-3-0, 2 points · automatic
    4. 1989 The Belfry (Brabazon Course) USA · tied 14–14 · 1-3-1, 1.5 points · automatic
    5. 1995 Oak Hill Country Club (East Course) USA · Europe won 14.5–13.5 · 0-3-0, 0 points · captain's pick
    6. 2002 Captain USA · lost 12.5–15.5

    Partners, with matches played together: Tom Kite (6), Jay Haas (2), Raymond Floyd (1), Mark O'Meara (1), Craig Stadler (1), Peter Jacobsen (1), Paul Azinger (1), Payne Stewart (1), Ben Crenshaw (1).

    Sources

    Every fact on this page comes from Golf Network News data sets compiled in October 2026 (Masters, PGA Championship, The Open, U.S. Women's Open, Ryder Cup, PGA Tour 2024–2026, major host sites, Champions Dinner menus, and the U.S. Open and state rooms). These are the sources those rows cite.

    1. WP: List of American Ryder Cup golfers
    2. rydercup.com — link no longer works (checked October 17, 2026): https://rydercup.com/news-media/usa/ryder-cup-team-usa-past-captains
    3. Golf Compendium
    4. GNN U.S. Open room (champions data)
    5. GC: 1983 ryder cup
    6. Wikipedia: 1983 Ryder Cup
    7. GC: 1985 ryder cup
    8. Wikipedia: 1985 Ryder Cup
    9. GC: 1987 ryder cup
    10. Wikipedia: 1987 Ryder Cup
    11. GC: 1989 ryder cup
    12. Wikipedia: 1989 Ryder Cup
    13. GC: 1995 ryder cup
    14. Deseret News 1995
    15. Wikipedia: 1995 Ryder Cup
    16. Golf Channel
    17. SI Vault 2001 — link no longer works (checked October 17, 2026): https://vault.si.com/vault/2001/08/27/tough-calls-picking-the-ryder-cup-wild-cards-was-a-difficult-job-but-somebody-namely-curtis-strange-had-to-do-it