The 1989 U.S. Open was the 89th U.S. Open, held June 15–18 at the East Course of Oak Hill Country Club near Rochester, New York. Curtis Strange won his second consecutive U.S. Open, one stroke ahead of runners-up Chip Beck, Mark McCumber, and Ian Woosnam, becoming the first successful defender of a U.S. Open title since Ben Hogan in 1951. Strange became the sixth player to defend the U.S. Open title. This was the last of his 17 wins on the PGA Tour. Heavy rains before the tournament allowed for some low scores in the early rounds, with a record 38 under-par rounds in the first two rounds. During the second round, four players recorded holes-in-one at the downhill 6th hole. All four hit a 7-iron past the flag, taking advantage of the damp conditions. The rest of the field had thirty birdies at the hole during the second round. Gary Player, the 1965 champion and winner of nine major titles, played in his final U.S. Open in 1989. He shot 78-69=147 and missed the cut by two strokes. This was the third U.S. Open and the fourth major at the East Course. Previous U.S. Opens were in 1956 and 1968, and the PGA Championship in 1980. It later hosted the Ryder Cup in 1995 and the PGA Championship in 2003 and 2013.
Saturday, June 17, 1989 Overnight rains thoroughly soaked the already saturated course and caused a delay in the start. Instead of pairs, the players went off on split tees in groupings of three, a first at the U.S. Open. A 73 in the third round dropped Strange to three back of Tom Kite, whose first three rounds were in the 60s.
Sunday, June 18, 1989 Kite led by three after four holes in the final round, but a triple bogey at the 5th hole and bogeys at 8 and 10 dropped him a stroke back of Strange. Double bogeys at 13 and 15 dropped him from contention. Kite recorded a 78 and finished in ninth place. Strange played steadily in the penultimate pairing, with fifteen consecutive pars until a birdie at the 16th, his first since the second round. Despite a three-putt for bogey at the 18th, Strange held on for a one-stroke win and a second straight U.S. Open title.
Place
Player
Country
Score
To par
Money
1
Curtis Strange
71-64-73-70=278
−2
200,000
T2
Chip Beck
71-69-71-68=279
−1
67,823
T2
Mark McCumber
70-68-72-69=279
−1
67,823
T2
Ian Woosnam
70-68-73-68=279
−1
67,823
5
Brian Claar
71-72-68-69=280
E
34,345
T6
Masashi Ozaki
70-71-68-72=281
+1
28,220
T6
Scott Simpson
67-70-69-75=281
+1
28,220
8
Peter Jacobsen
71-70-71-70=282
+2
24,307
T9
Paul Azinger
71-72-70-70=283
+3
19,968
T9
Hubert Green
69-72-74-68=283
+3
19,968
T9
Tom Kite
67-69-69-78=283
+3
19,968
T9
José María Olazábal
69-72-70-72=283
+3
19,968
Source:
Scorecard
Final round
Hole
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
Par
4
4
3
5
4
3
4
4
4
4
3
4
5
4
3
4
4
4
Strange
−2
−2
−2
−2
−2
−2
−2
−2
−2
−2
−2
−2
−2
−2
−2
−3
−3
−2
Beck
+1
E
+1
+1
+2
+2
+2
+1
+1
+1
E
−1
−1
−1
−1
−1
−1
−1
McCumber
E
E
E
−1
−1
−1
−1
−2
−1
−1
−1
−1
E
E
E
−1
−1
−1
Woosnam
E
−1
−1
−1
−1
−1
−1
−1
+1
E
E
E
E
+1
E
E
E
−1
Kite
−5
−5
−6
−6
−3
−3
−3
−2
−2
−1
−1
−1
+1
+1
+3
+3
+3
+3
Cumulative tournament scores, relative to par Source:
Strange
Woosnam