 | |
| 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) | |
The1987 U.S. Open was the 87thU.S. Open, held June 18–21 at theOlympic Club inSan Francisco,California.Scott Simpson passed and held off1982 championTom Watson on the Lake Course to win his onlymajor title by one stroke.
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 in1955 and1966 ended in playoffs. The U.S. Open returned in1998 and2012; both were won by one stroke.
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:
Thursday, June 18, 1987
Friday, June 19, 1987
| Place | Player | Score | To par |
|---|---|---|---|
| T1 | Tom Watson | 72-65=137 | −3 |
| Mark Wiebe | 70-67=137 | ||
| T3 | John Cook | 70-68=138 | −2 |
 Bernhard Langer | 69-69=138 | ||
 Tsuneyuki Nakajima | 68-70=138 | ||
| Jack Nicklaus | 70-68=138 | ||
| Jim Thorpe | 70-68=138 | ||
| T8 | Ben Crenshaw | 67-72=139 | −1 |
| Bob Eastwood | 73-66=139 | ||
| Larry Mize | 71-68=139 | ||
| Scott Simpson | 71-68=139 |
Amateurs:Alexander (+13), Parker (+13).
Saturday, June 20, 1987
| Place | Player | Score | To par |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tom Watson | 72-65-71=208 | −2 |
| T2 | Keith Clearwater | 74-71-64=209 | −1 |
| Scott Simpson | 71-68-70=209 | ||
| 4 | Lennie Clements | 70-70-70=210 | E |
| T5 |  Seve Ballesteros | 68-75-68=211 | +1 |
| Ben Crenshaw | 67-72-72=211 | ||
| Bernhard Langer | 69-69-73=211 | ||
| John Mahaffey | 72-72-67=211 | ||
| Larry Mize | 71-68-72=211 | ||
| Jim Thorpe | 70-68-73=211 |
Sunday, June 21, 1987
Watson held a share of the lead after 36 holes, then took a one-shot lead over Simpson andKeith Clearwater into the final round. Clearwater, 27, shot a six-under 64 on Saturday to get into the final pair with Watson.[2] 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.[3]Seve Ballesteros finished in solo third place, his best career finish in a U.S. Open.[4][5]
| Place | Player | Score | To par | Money ($) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Scott Simpson | 71-68-70-68=277 | −3 | 150,000 |
| 2 | Tom Watson | 72-65-71-70=278 | −2 | 75,000 |
| 3 | Seve Ballesteros | 68-75-68-71=282 | +2 | 46,240 |
| T4 | Ben Crenshaw | 67-72-72-72=283 | +3 | 24,542 |
| Bernhard Langer | 69-69-73-72=283 | |||
| Larry Mize | 71-68-72-72=283 | |||
| Curtis Strange | 71-72-69-71=283 | |||
| Bobby Wadkins | 71-71-70-71=283 | |||
| T9 | Lennie Clements | 70-70-70-74=284 | +4 | 15,004 |
| Tsuneyuki Nakajima | 68-70-74-72=284 | |||
| Mac O'Grady | 71-69-72-72=284 | |||
| Dan Pohl | 75-71-69-69=284 | |||
| Jim Thorpe | 70-68-73-73=284 |
Final round
| Hole | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Par | 5 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 4 |
| Simpson | −2 | −2 | −1 | E | E | +1 | E | E | E | E | E | E | E | −1 | −2 | −3 | −3 | −3 |
| Watson | −1 | E | E | E | +1 | +1 | +1 | E | −1 | −1 | −1 | −1 | −1 | −2 | −2 | −2 | −2 | −2 |
| Ballesteros | E | E | +1 | +2 | +3 | +3 | +2 | +1 | +1 | +1 | E | +1 | +2 | +2 | +1 | +1 | +2 | +2 |
| Crenshaw | +2 | +2 | +2 | +2 | +2 | +2 | +2 | +2 | +1 | E | +1 | +2 | +2 | +1 | +1 | +2 | +3 | +3 |
| Langer | E | E | E | E | E | +1 | +1 | +1 | +1 | +1 | +1 | +2 | +2 | +1 | +2 | +2 | +2 | +3 |
| Mize | +1 | +1 | E | E | E | +1 | +1 | +1 | +1 | E | E | +1 | +2 | +3 | +3 | +3 | +3 | +3 |
| Strange | +3 | +3 | +3 | +3 | +4 | +4 | +4 | +3 | +2 | +2 | +2 | +2 | +2 | +3 | +3 | +3 | +4 | +3 |
| Wadkins | +2 | +2 | +3 | +3 | +4 | +4 | +4 | +4 | +4 | +3 | +3 | +3 | +2 | +3 | +3 | +3 | +4 | +3 |
| Clements | E | +1 | +2 | +2 | +3 | +4 | +3 | +3 | +3 | +3 | +3 | +3 | +4 | +3 | +3 | +4 | +4 | +4 |
| Clearwater | −1 | E | +2 | +2 | +3 | +3 | +3 | +3 | +3 | +3 | +3 | +3 | +3 | +3 | +3 | +4 | +7 | +8 |
Cumulative tournament scores, relative to par
| Birdie | Bogey | Double bogey | Triple bogey+ |
Source:[4]
37°42′32″N122°29′42″W / 37.709°N 122.495°W /37.709; -122.495
