1987 U.S. Open (golf)
The 1987 U.S. Open was the 87th U.S. Open, held June 18–21 at the Olympic Club in San Francisco, California. Scott Simpson passed and held off 1982 champion Tom Watson on the Lake Course to win his only major title by one stroke.
Tournament information | |
---|---|
Dates | June 18–21, 1987 |
Location | San Francisco, California |
Course(s) | Olympic Club, Lake Course |
Organized by | USGA |
Tour(s) | PGA Tour |
Format | Stroke play |
Statistics | |
Par | 70 |
Length | 6,709 yards (6,135 m)[1] |
Field | 156 players, 77 after cut |
Cut | 147 (+7) |
Prize fund | $825,000 |
Winner's share | $150,000 |
Champion | |
Scott Simpson | |
277 (−3) | |
Eleven former champions were in the field and only four made the 36-hole cut.
This was the third U.S. Open at the Lake Course of the Olympic Club, the previous two in 1955 and 1966 ended in playoffs. The U.S. Open returned in 1998 and 2012; both were won by one stroke.
Course layout
Olympic Club - Lake Course[1]
Hole | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Out | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | In | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Yards | 533 | 394 | 223 | 438 | 457 | 437 | 288 | 132 | 433 | 3,335 | 422 | 430 | 390 | 186 | 417 | 149 | 609 | 428 | 343 | 3,374 | 6,709 |
Par | 5 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 35 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 35 | 70 |
Lengths of the course for previous major championships:
- 6,719 yards (6,144 m), par 70 - 1966 U.S. Open
- 6,700 yards (6,126 m), par 70 - 1955 U.S. Open
Past champions in the field
Made the cut
Player | Country | Year(s) won | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | Total | To par | Finish |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Tom Watson | United States | 1982 | 72 | 65 | 71 | 70 | 278 | −2 | 2 |
Raymond Floyd | United States | 1986 | 68 | 73 | 76 | 73 | 290 | +10 | T43 |
Jack Nicklaus | United States | 1962, 1967, 1972, 1980 | 70 | 68 | 76 | 77 | 291 | +11 | T46 |
David Graham | Australia | 1981 | 71 | 76 | 72 | 73 | 292 | +12 | T51 |
Missed the cut
Player | Country | Year(s) won | R1 | R2 | Total | To par |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Andy North | United States | 1978, 1985 | 74 | 74 | 148 | +8 |
Johnny Miller | United States | 1973 | 71 | 77 | 148 | +8 |
Hale Irwin | United States | 1974, 1979 | 79 | 71 | 150 | +10 |
Larry Nelson | United States | 1983 | 76 | 75 | 151 | +11 |
Lee Trevino | United States | 1968, 1971 | 73 | 78 | 151 | +11 |
Hubert Green | United States | 1977 | 77 | 75 | 152 | +12 |
Fuzzy Zoeller | United States | 1984 | 77 | 75 | 152 | +12 |
Source:[2]
Round summaries
First round
Thursday, June 18, 1987
Second round
Friday, June 19, 1987
Place | Player | Country | Score | To par |
---|---|---|---|---|
T1 | Tom Watson | United States | 72-65=137 | −3 |
Mark Wiebe | United States | 70-67=137 | ||
T3 | John Cook | United States | 70-68=138 | −2 |
Bernhard Langer | West Germany | 69-69=138 | ||
Tsuneyuki Nakajima | Japan | 68-70=138 | ||
Jack Nicklaus | United States | 70-68=138 | ||
Jim Thorpe | United States | 70-68=138 | ||
T8 | Ben Crenshaw | United States | 67-72=139 | −1 |
Bob Eastwood | United States | 73-66=139 | ||
Larry Mize | United States | 71-68=139 | ||
Scott Simpson | United States | 71-68=139 |
Amateurs: Alexander (+13), Parker (+13).
Third round
Saturday, June 20, 1987
Place | Player | Country | Score | To par |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Tom Watson | United States | 72-65-71=208 | −2 |
T2 | Keith Clearwater | United States | 74-71-64=209 | −1 |
Scott Simpson | United States | 71-68-70=209 | ||
4 | Lennie Clements | United States | 70-70-70=210 | E |
T5 | Seve Ballesteros | Spain | 68-75-68=211 | +1 |
Ben Crenshaw | United States | 67-72-72=211 | ||
Bernhard Langer | West Germany | 69-69-73=211 | ||
John Mahaffey | United States | 72-72-67=211 | ||
Larry Mize | United States | 71-68-72=211 | ||
Jim Thorpe | United States | 70-68-73=211 |
Final round
Sunday, June 21, 1987
Watson held a share of the lead after 36 holes, then took a one-shot lead over Simpson and Keith Clearwater into the final round. Clearwater, 27, shot a six-under 64 on Saturday to get into the final pair with Watson.[3] Watson struggled out of the gate on Sunday on Olympic's difficult start; he bogeyed the first two holes and the fifth as well. Simpson birdied the first but then had three bogeys in four holes. With consecutive birdies at 8 and 9, Watson carried a one-stroke lead to the back nine. Simpson, a group ahead on the course, took the lead with a 30-footer (9 m) for birdie at 15, but Watson responded with a birdie at 14 to tie. At 16, Simpson sank a 9-footer (2.7 m) for his third straight birdie to take the lead, then Watson missed his from 12 feet (3.7 m) to match. Simpson found a greenside bunker at 17, then hit his sand shot to 6 feet (1.8 m) and saved par. With a par on 18, Simpson was in the clubhouse with a 68 and Watson needed a birdie to a force a Monday playoff. His 35-foot (11 m) putt narrowly missed and Simpson was the champion by a stroke. In the final pairing, Clearwater had trouble both early and late and shot a 79 (+9) to fade to a tie for 31st.[4] Seve Ballesteros finished in solo third place, his best career finish in a U.S. Open.[5][6]
Place | Player | Country | Score | To par | Money ($) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Scott Simpson | United States | 71-68-70-68=277 | −3 | 150,000 |
2 | Tom Watson | United States | 72-65-71-70=278 | −2 | 75,000 |
3 | Seve Ballesteros | Spain | 68-75-68-71=282 | +2 | 46,240 |
T4 | Ben Crenshaw | United States | 67-72-72-72=283 | +3 | 24,542 |
Bernhard Langer | West Germany | 69-69-73-72=283 | |||
Larry Mize | United States | 71-68-72-72=283 | |||
Curtis Strange | United States | 71-72-69-71=283 | |||
Bobby Wadkins | United States | 71-71-70-71=283 | |||
T9 | Lennie Clements | United States | 70-70-70-74=284 | +4 | 15,004 |
Tsuneyuki Nakajima | Japan | 68-70-74-72=284 | |||
Mac O'Grady | United States | 71-69-72-72=284 | |||
Dan Pohl | United States | 75-71-69-69=284 | |||
Jim Thorpe | United States | 70-68-73-73=284 |
Scorecard
Final round
Cumulative tournament scores, relative to par
Birdie Bogey Double bogey Triple bogey+
Source:[5]
References
- "What they'll face at Olympic". Eugene Register-Guard. Associated Press. June 18, 1987. p. 5D.
- "1987 U.S. Open". databasegolf.com. Retrieved June 24, 2012.
- Downey, Mike (June 21, 1987). "Watson leads, by one putt". Eugene Register-Guard. Los Angeles Times. p. 1B.
- Parascenzo, Marino (June 22, 1987). "Simpson takes close Open". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. 11.
- "Olympic magic taps Simpson's putter". Eugene Register-Guard. Associated Press. June 22, 1987. p. 1B.
- Reilly, Rick (June 29, 1987). "An Open and Shut Case". Sports Illustrated. p. 20. Retrieved December 6, 2019.