National Media Recalls Ben Curtis' Historic 2003 Open Championship Win
7/12/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
• Ben Curtis PGA Player Page
• 2011 Open Championship Home Page
Curtis begins play at the 2011 Open Championship on Thursday at 3:58 a.m. EST (8:58 a.m. local)
There was no bigger story around the Kent State University community — and arguably all of Northeast Ohio — in 2003 than Ben Curtis' Cinderella win at the 2003 British Open at Royal St. George's Golf Club in Sandwich, England. Curtis' win was not only one of the greatest sports stories of all-time, but it put Kent State on the national map and was selected as the Kent State athletic story of 2003.
With the 140th edition of the British Open Championship returning to Royal St George's Golf Club this week (July 14-17) for the first time since Curtis hoisted the Claret Jug with that historic win in 2003, numerous national media outlets recalled the former Kent State All-American's ascension from an unknown PGA rookie to a Major Champion winning in a matter of less than a week.
On July 20, 2003, in his rookie year on the PGA Tour, Curtis claimed the coveted Claret Jug at the 132nd British Open in just his 16th PGA Tour start. Curtis was the first player in 90 years – since Francis Ouimet – to win the first major golf championship he ever played. Ouimet pulled off the feat at the 1913 U.S. Open at Brookline, Mass.
ABC Sports and ESPN commentator Mike Tirico called it "one of the most amazing stories in the history of the Open Championship." After all, Curtis entered the Open ranked 396th in the world after qualifying for the Open just two weeks prior by finishing 13th at the Western Open in Chicago. In addition, his professional experience with links golf amounted to all of one tournament.
"This is the all-time Cinderella story," Tirico said.
And who would argue.
The 26-year-old shot a two-under-par 69 in the final round. At one-under 273 for the tournament, he was the only player to break par in bringing the Claret Jug to Ohio. The Ostrander, Ohio, native birdied six of the first 11 holes on Sunday — none from outside of 15 feet — to take a two-stroke lead at 5-under par.
"I was shaking in my boots, obviously," Curtis said. "But I was just out there very focused on what I had to do and let my work speak for itself."
After a stretch of four bogies in six holes, Curtis was able to right the ship, pouring in an eight-foot par putt on the 18th hole to defeat Vijay Singh and Thomas Björn by a single stroke. Lurking just two shots back were Tiger Woods and Davis Love III.
"Is this unexpected?," asked Kent State head coach Herb Page. "Absolutely. But is it a huge surprise? To me, it really isn't. It's a Cinderella story for most but for people around Kent State, including our players and everyone who knows him, we've always thought Ben was a champion."
The Open victory provided Curtis with a five-year exemption on the tour, a spot in the British Open until he is 65-years-old and a berth in every major over the next five years – not to mention $1.1 million in prize money. Not bad for someone who had earned just over $200,000 in his first 15 starts.
Prior to his breakout performance at the British Open, Curtis had never finished in the top 10 in a PGA Tour event. He finished 66th at the 2003 Buick Classic in June and 27th at the 2003 FedEx St. Jude Classic later that month leading up to his 13th-place finish at the 2003 Western Open, which earned Curtis his winning spot in the British Open.
Following his British Open victory, Curtis led the NEC Invitational at Akron's Firestone Country Club after the first round and eventually finished 30th. He closed the memorable 2003 season with a 16th-place finish in the Target World Challenge.
Ben Curtis: Then & Now:
Kent State Career Marks
• Three-time All-American; second-team selection in 1999 & 2000, honorable mention in 1998
• Mid-American Conference medalist in 2000
• MAC Player of the Year in 2000
• First-Team All-MAC in 1997, 1998, 1999 and 2000
• MAC Freshman of the Year in 1997
• Member of four MAC Championship teams in four years
• The 1999-00 squad finished ninth at the NCAA Championships, the best finish up to that point in Kent State history
• Teams he was on won a total of 12 tournaments
• Two individual tournament wins
• 28 top 10 finishes, tied for most in school history
• Holds school record for lowest career and single season stroke averages at 72.23 and 70.66, respectively
• Chosen to CoSIDA Academic All-District Second Team in 1998 and 1999
PGA Tour Accomplishments
• 2003 British Open Champion
• Member of the victorious 2008 U.S. Ryder Cup team
• In 2008, finished 9th in the FedEx Cup standings thanks in part to strong finishes as the PGA Championship (T2nd), Wachovia Championship (2nd), The Barclays (T4th), THE TOUR Championship (5th) & British Open Championship (T7th)
• Earned a career-best $2.6 million in 2008
• Won Booz Allen and 84 Lumber Classic championships in 2006 en route to earning more than $2.2 million
• 15 career top 10 and 38 career top 25 finishes
