Ben Curtis (golfer)
| Ben Curtis | |
|---|---|
| — Golfer — | |
| Personal information | |
| Full name | Ben Clifford Curtis |
| Born |
May 26, 1977 Columbus, Ohio |
| Height | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) |
| Weight | 175 lb (79 kg; 12.5 st) |
| Nationality |
 United States
|
| Residence | Kent, Ohio |
| Spouse | Candace Curtis |
| Children | Liam, Addison |
| Career | |
| College | Kent State University |
| Turned professional | 2000 |
| Current tour(s) | Web.com Tour |
| Former tour(s) |
PGA Tour (joined 2003) European Tour |
| Professional wins | 4 |
| Number of wins by tour | |
| PGA Tour | 4 |
| Best results in major championships (wins: 1) |
|
| Masters Tournament | T35: 2009 |
| U.S. Open | T14: 2010 |
| The Open Championship | Won: 2003 |
| PGA Championship | T2: 2008 |
| Achievements and awards | |
| PGA Tour Rookie of the Year |
2003 |
Ben Clifford Curtis (born May 26, 1977) is an American professional golfer on the PGA Tour, best known for winning the 2003 Open Championship.
Curtis was born in Columbus, Ohio and grew up in Ostrander. His family runs the Mill Creek Golf Club, also in Ostrander. Curtis is a graduate of Buckeye Valley High School and Kent State University, where he was a star on the golf team and earned a bachelor's degree in recreation management in 2000.
As an amateur, Curtis found much success, winning the Ohio Amateur in 1999 and 2000 (joining professional golfers John Cook and Arnold Palmer as the only men to win the Ohio Amateur in consecutive years), and also the Players Amateur in 2000.
Curtis turned professional in 2000, originally playing on the Hooters Tour without any success. At the end of 2002, he finished in a tie for 26th at that year's Q-School, earning his PGA Tour card for the following year, becoming one of the few players to completely skip the Nationwide Tour. His first year on tour began unspectacularly as he made a fair amount of cuts, but had no finishes in the top 25, until a tie for 13th at the Western Open on July 6, which qualified him for The Open Championship in England less than two weeks later.
Curtis entered the The Open Championship at Royal St George's in 2003 as a 300–1 outsider, defying the odds to win the tournament.
After an opening round 72 (+1), he shot a second round 72 to pull into a seven-way tie for fourth. A third round 70 put Curtis in a five-way tie for third, two strokes behind leader Thomas Bjørn and one stroke behind second-place Davis Love III. While Bjørn shot a final round 72, Curtis fired a 69 to finish at −1, one stroke ahead of Bjørn and Vijay Singh.
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