Curtis Strange, PGA Tour Great, Joins the Champions Tour

This weekend, Curtis Strange will make his Champions Tour debut at the ACE Group Classic in Naples, Florida.

Those very new to golf may wonder who Curtis Strange is. In fact, one’s view of Strange probably depends upon how long you have been following golf. If you’ve been following the game for a few years, you probably view him as the lead analyst on ABC golf coverage (Strange filled that role from 1997 to 2004) or as just another losing Ryder Cup captain (2002).

If you’ve been following golf for about a decade, then you may remember Curtis Strange as the player that played a large role in the United States’ 1995 Ryder Cup loss (Strange was a controversial captain’s pick by fellow Virginian and Wake Forest alum Lanny Wadkins).

And finally, if you’ve been following golf for much longer, then you probably remember Strange as the best player on the PGA Tour, if not the world, in the mid- to late-1980s, a player full of fire and determination.

Strange was first introduced to the golf world, on a wide scale, when he faltered at Augusta National’s Amen Corner in 1985. Hitting into Rae’s Creek while going for the green in two on the par-five 13th hole in the final round led to his demise and Bernhard Langer’s first Masters win. While many at the time labeled Strange a choker, few took into consideration the fact that Strange opened the tournament with an 80 and fought his way back into contention with a second-round 65 and a third-round 68. Strange would finish the season with three victories and the PGA Tour money title. While he won just once in 1986, Strange won three times in 1987 to win the money title again.

In 1988, Strange picked up right where he left off and had two tournament victories under his belt by the time the U.S. Open at The Country Club in Brookline, Massachusetts came around. Earlier in the season, after losing to Strange in a sudden-death playoff at the Memorial tournament, Hale Irwin labelled Strange as the best player in the world. Battling both the external and internal pressures to come through with his first major victory, Strange managed to get up-and-down from a greenside bunker on the seventy-second hole to tie Nick Faldo, defeating him in an eighteen hole playoff the next day. The monkey was off his back and he would cap off the year by winning the season-ending Tour Championship to become the first player to win over a million dollars in a single season.

While he won only once in 1989, it was a very significant win as he became the first person since Ben Hogan in 1950 and 1951 to win consecutive U.S. Open titles, defeating Tom Kite at Oak Hill Country Club in Rochester, New York. Kite had led by three shots with only four holes to play, and afterwards while entering the pressroom, Strange exclaimed, “Move over, Ben.”

1989 was also a Ryder Cup year and Strange, playing in the last singles match on the final day against Ian Woosnam, recorded a 2-up victory in order to attain a tie for the American side. Once Strange failed in his attempt to win a third consecutive U.S. Open in 1990 at Medinah CC, the fire and enthusiasm that drove Strange to become the best player in the world burned out and surprisingly, his 1989 U.S. Open win would become his last tournament win.

Like a lot of today’s Champions Tour rookies, Strange is somewhat reluctant to embrace the senior circuit. He is committing to a full schedule of tournaments, however he readily admits in interviews leading up to his debut that he is very unsure as to what to expect from himself and from the tour. But those of us who remember Strange for his great play a decade-and-a-half ago are certain to follow his progress in his return to competitive golf.

Photo Credit: © Jim Moriarity/Golf Digest.