More Information About Ben Curtis (golfer)

Ben Curtis
Personal information
Full name	Ben Clifford Curtis
Born	May 26, 1977 (1977-05-26) (age 32) Columbus, Ohio
Height	5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Weight	175 lb (79 kg; 12.5 st)
Nationality	United States
Residence	Stow, Ohio
Career
College	Kent State University
Turned professional	2000
Current tour(s)	PGA Tour (joined 2003), European Tour (joined 2009)
Professional wins	3
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour	3
Best results in Major Championships (Wins: 1)
The Masters	T35: 2009
U.S. Open	30th: 2004
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 best known for winning the 2003 British Open.

Career

Early career

Curtis was born in Columbus, Ohio and grew up in Ostrander, Ohio. 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.

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 Nationwide Tour without much 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. His first year on tour began unspectactuarly 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, a result which qualified him to play in that year's British Open.

British Open champion

Curtis entered the British Open at Royal St George's in 2003 as a 300-1 outsider, defying the odds to win the tournament by one stroke from Thomas Bjørn and Vijay Singh on the final day.

The 2003 British Open was Curtis' first appearance in a major; he became the first golfer since Francis Ouimet in the 1913 U.S. Open to win his major championship debut. After his victory, Curtis jumped from 396th in the Official World Golf Rankings to 35th, the highest jump for any person. This victory and a solid first season on the PGA Tour led to Curtis' being named the PGA Tour Rookie of the Year for 2003.

Further success

Curtis' British Open victory gave him a five year exemption on the PGA Tour and a ten year exemption on the European Tour, and he played events on both tours in 2004. However, he did not experience immediate success, missing many cuts and only recording one top ten finish on the PGA Tour. He missed even more cuts in 2005 and only had two top ten finishes.

In 2006, his results improved as he made the cut much more consistently and recorded two wins: the Booz Allen Classic and the 84 Lumber Classic. His consistent form continued into 2007 and he tied for 8th place at that year's British Open in Carnoustie, his best result in a major since winning the tournament.

2008 was Curtis's most consistent season to date, recording five top ten finishes and missing only four cuts all year. He bettered his British Open result from the previous year by finishing in a tie for 7th at Royal Birkdale and followed it up a month later by finishing tied for 2nd place in the PGA Championship at Oakland Hills. This second place finish qualified him for the 2008 Ryder Cup, his first appearance in the event.

This consistent form continued into 2009, with only three missed cuts in 18 PGA Tour events of the year. However despite this statistic Curits only managed one top 20 finish and finished the year outside the top 100 in the money list. At the 2009 Open Championship at Turnberry, Curtis shot a 65 to tie for second after the first round, but a second round 80 meant that he missed the cut by one shot.

Personal life

Curtis and his wife Candace currently reside in Stow, Ohio.

Amateur wins

• 1999 Ohio Amateur
• 2000 Ohio Amateur, Players Amateur

PGA Tour wins (3)

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning Score	Margin of Victory	Runner(s)-up
1	Jul 20, 2003	British Open	-1 (72-72-70-69=283)	1 stroke	Thomas Bjørn, Vijay Singh
2	Jun 27, 2006	Booz Allen Classic	-20 (62-65-67-70=264)	5 strokes	Billy Andrade, Pádraig Harrington, Nick O'Hern, Steve Stricker
3	Sep 17, 2006	84 Lumber Classic	-14 (66-69-69-70=274)	2 strokes	Charles Howell III

Major championships

Wins (1)

Year	Championship	54 Holes	Winning Score	Margin	Runner(s)-up
2003	British Open	2 shot deficit	-1 (72-72-70-69=283)	1 stroke	Thomas Bjørn, Vijay Singh

Results timeline

DNP = Did not play
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place
Green background for wins. Yellow background for top-10.

Results in World Golf Championship events

DNP = Did not play
QF, R16, R32, R64 = Round in which player lost in match play
"T" = tied
Green background for wins. Yellow background for top-10.

United States national team appearances

Amateur

• Eisenhower Trophy: 2000 (winners)

Professional

• Ryder Cup: 2008 (winners)
• World Cup: 2008

External links

• Profile on PGA Tour's official site
• Results for the last two years from the Official World Golf Ranking site
• golfohio.com profile
• Outsiders who won The Open

v â€¢ d â€¢ e United States Ryder Cup team – 2008 Chad Campbell Â· Stewart Cink Â· Ben Curtis Â· Jim Furyk Â· J. B. Holmes Â· Anthony Kim Â· Justin Leonard Â· Hunter Mahan Â· Phil Mickelson Â· Kenny Perry Â· Steve Stricker Â· Boo Weekley Â· Paul Azinger (non-playing captain)