Ben Curtis Named To 2012 MAC Hall of Fame Class
5/10/2012 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
Former Kent State All-American golfer is part of six-member class set for May 17 induction
KENT, Ohio – The Mid-American Conference has announced that former Kent State golf standout Ben Curtis (1997-00) will be part of the MAC Hall of Fame Induction Class of 2012. Curtis is one of six new members to be inducted in the MAC Hall of Fame on Thursday, May 17 at the MAC Honor's Dinner at the Cleveland Renaissance Hotel.
In addition to Curtis, the inductees include, Herb Deromedi (Central Michigan, football), Wayne Embry (Miami, men's basketball), Karen Fitzpatrick (Ball State, field hockey), Bob Nichols (Toledo, men's basketball) and Mike Schmidt (Ohio, baseball).
Long before his 2003 British Open Title and four PGA Tour wins, Ben Curtis made a name for himself at Kent State University. A three-time All-American, Curtis earned honorable mention honors in 1998 and second-team honors in 1999 and 2000. As a senior in 2000 Curtis was named MAC Golfer of the Year, Sportsman of the Year and was the MAC Championship medalist.
Curtis led the Golden Flashes to a MAC title in each of his four years and helped Kent State to a ninth-place finish at the 2000 NCAA Championships. He is the Golden Flashes all-time leader in career top-10 finishes with 28, and stroke average at 72.23. In the classroom, the honors continued to follow Curtis who was chosen to the CoSIDA Academic All-District Second-Team in 1998 and 1999.
Upon reaching the PGA Tour in 2003, Curtis immediately made a name for himself by winning the British Open in just his 16th Tour start, becoming the first player in 90 years to win the first major golf championship he ever played.
Proving the victory was no fluke, Curtis has won three more times on the Tour since with his most recent victory coming at the Valero Texas Open in April, 2012. Along the way he secured a spot on the winning United States Ryder Cup squad in 2008, following a summer in which he tied for second place at the PGA Championship, had another top 10 at the British Open and finished in ninth-place in the FedEx Cup standings.
The MAC Hall of Fame was approved by the MAC Council of Presidents in 1987. The charter class was inducted in 1988 and subsequent classes were added in 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992 and 1994. After six induction classes, the MAC Hall of Fame maintained 52 members until it was reinstated this May. This year's class brings the number of MAC Hall of Fame inductees to 58 individuals from seven classes.
For more infortion on the other five inductees visit www.mac-sports.com
