Curtis Strange

Curtis Northrup Strange (born January 30, 1955) is an American professional golfer and TV color commentator. He is one of only three players since World War II to win back-to-back U.S. Open titles (1988, 1989), joining Ben Hogan and Brooks Koepka. A member of the World Golf Hall of Fame and Virginia Sports Hall of Fame, Strange was one of the dominant players on the PGA Tour in the 1980s. Born in Norfolk, Virginia, Strange and his identical twin brother Allan grew up in a golfing family — their father Tom owned White Sands Country Club and started Curtis in the game at age 7. Strange played collegiate golf at Wake Forest University, where he was part of the 1974 NCAA Championship team alongside Jay Haas, widely regarded as the greatest college golf team ever. He won the Haskins Award as the nation's top college golfer in 1974 and represented the United States in the 1975 Walker Cup. Strange turned professional in 1976 and won 17 PGA Tour events, 16 of them during the 1980s. He topped the money list in 1985, 1987, and 1988 — becoming the first player to surpass $1 million in single-season earnings. His two Major Championships were consecutive U.S. Open titles: the 1988 U.S. Open at The Country Club (beating Nick Faldo in an 18-hole playoff) and the 1989 U.S. Open at Oak Hill (winning by one stroke over Chip Beck, Mark McCumber, and Ian Woosnam). Strange also finished runner-up at the 1985 Masters Tournament and the 1989 PGA Championship, but never won either. He represented the United States on five Ryder Cup teams (1983, 1985, 1987, 1989, 1995), winning once in 1983, and captained the team in 2002. He reached a career-high OWGR ranking of #3 in June 1988. Since 1997, Strange has worked as a television analyst for ABC Sports and later ESPN and Fox Sports. He was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2007.