In a round of golf as uneventful as it was exhausting, Curtis Strange scrambled to an even-par 71 for a four-stroke playoff victory over England`s Nick Faldo in the 88th U.S. Open at The Country Club Monday.
Strange, one of the most driven veterans on the American tour, sank a 10- foot birdie putt on the fifth hole to assume a lead he never surrendered during a ponderous 4-hour 15-minute match amidst swirling winds, high humidity and an enthusiastic but orderly gallery of about 12,000.
The 33-year-old Virginian, winner of 14 events since joining the PGA Tour in 1977, thus gained his first title in one of golf`s four major tournaments: the Masters, the U.S. Open, the British Open and the PGA Championship. If Strange`s triumph Monday was not a particularly memorable round, he staged a virtuoso performance an hour later, when he summarized what the U.S. Open meant to him and his.
”This one is for my dad,” said Strange, his voice cracking as he recalled his father, Tom, a golf professional whom Curtis began following to work when he was 9. From dawn till dusk, Curtis learned the basics of the game, the basics of life. And then Tom died when his son was only 14.
”I screwed up the 1985 Masters, and I was very disappointed,” Curtis continued in a rasp, recounting how he led by four swings with nine holes remaining before twice depositing approach shots into water. ”I`ve been waiting a long time for this. This is the greatest thing I`ve ever done. It`s the greatest feeling I`ve ever had. I wish he was here to see this.”
When Strange arrived at The Country Club last week, he admitted sensing some unusual pressure, specifically that of defending America`s honor against an increasingly impressive foreign contingent. Fellow pros generally regard him as the best this country has in residence, a grim competitor who possesses all the tools, including heart. Witness the 1985 Masters that Strange might have won. In the opening round, he shot 80. Ergo, he also might have given up. Whether Strange`s well-earned U.S. Open conquest ordains him as the best golfer in the world, however, is debatable. Since Tom Watson`s reign as clearly the dominant player effectively ended with his fifth British Open crown in 1983, 18 different men have captured the subsequent 19 major tournaments. Only Scotland`s Sandy Lyle has won twice. The message, then, is evident: There are too many outstanding candidates to nominate one. There is no pressing need, either.
Suffice it to say that Monday afternoon, Strange simply reinforced his position within the elite group. He did it despite missing fairways and finding only seven greens in regulation. He did it by grinding out a round of three birdies and three bogeys without his varsity game. He did it by sinking a 23-footer at No. 7 for birdie and a 29-footer at No. 13 for birdie-”That was the turning point,” Strange noted-with a putter that alternately floated like a butterfly and stung like a bee during Sunday`s fourth round.
”I didn`t sleep much at all after three-putting at the 17th hole yesterday,” Strange said. ”In fact, after two rounds and getting into contention, I haven`t slept very much at all. But last night, I thought over and over again about No. 17. I was ready to go. Nervous, but ready.”
Faldo bogeyed the third hole Monday, and Strange the fourth. Strange followed his go-ahead birdie at No. 5 with another at No. 7, where Faldo equaled it with a putt of about 10 feet. They turned the front nine one stroke apart; Strange had 34 and Faldo 35. Faldo took a bogey at No. 11, Strange at No. 12. Then on No. 13, Faldo took a bogey 5 and Strange`s 6-iron second shot left him with a long putt that dropped. Now, he led the playoff by three strokes.
”I just couldn`t put enough pressure on him after that,” said Faldo, who snared the British Open last July with a final round of 18 pars. He couldn`t even pull that out of his bag Monday, primarily because Faldo is at best a mediocre putter. He did birdie No. 14, but promptly abandoned any aspirations of a gallant turnabout with bogeys at Nos. 15 and 17. Faldo, despite hitting 12 fairways, finished with 40 on the back side toward an uninspired 75. A gentleman, Faldo congratulated Strange, then headed home to London to prepare for his Open.
”I don`t really make much of this United States against the rest of the world business,” Strange said. ”We`re all golfers out here. Trying to make a living, trying to do our best.”
Strange, criticized unjustly for being too aggressive with that cushion at Augusta National in 1985, could have bowled the ball up the 18th fairway Monday. He rapped a conservative 2-iron off the tee down the middle, well short of Faldo`s ball. When the huge crowd saw Curtis` golf ball ripping safely around the bend, there was a burst of approval from the bleachers. Strange then took that same 2-iron and cranked it up again. If he found the front bunker, fine. If he crushed the ball, it would reach the elevated green. He crushed it, and up went another ovation.
Curtis Strange, earner of $3.5 million on the tour, had $180,000 more in his pocket and the biggest smile on his face. In five rounds, he played the last four holes in 6 over par. But Strange had survived more than that. He had survived himself. From Day 1 out of Wake Forest, nobody had been tougher on Curtis Strange than Curtis Strange. Now, though, he had a U.S. Open won, and after he hugged wife Sarah beside the 18th green, that stiff upper lip was quivering.
”What does it mean?” he said. ”It means what every little boy dreams about when he plays golf by himself late in the afternoon. He puts three or four balls out there. They become Snead, Hogan, Nicklaus . . . and Strange.”
