THAT jaw-dropping Sunday afternoon at Royal St George's in 2003, when the penny finally dropped it was Ben Curtis, and not Thomas Bjorn or Tiger Woods or Vijay Singh or Davis Love III, who was about to become the Open champion, was the unforgettable moment when a cluster of the world's golf writers all scratched their heads, looked at one another askance and asked: "Ben who?"
It was, of course, the Open which Bjorn would have won but for costly mishaps with his sand wedge. During the first round, the Dane's temper got the better of him when he didn't escape from a trap at the 17th. After lashing out with his club, he was
penalised two strokes. To his credit, Bjorn rallied and found himself in pole position after 14 holes in the final round.
If he had made par on the 15th, he would have been three shots clear of the field with three to play. Instead, he drove into a bunker and carded 5. Bjorn's tee shot on the next, the short 16th, seemed well enough struck but drifted right on the breeze into the trap. His first attempt at escape was too cute, as was the second. Bjorn found the putting surface in four blows and eventually lost the title by one stroke.
Like all who swell the scene rather than recite soliloquies at the majors, Woods, Singh and Love also recounted hard-luck stories. Tiger, who started on Thursday with 7 on the first after losing a ball, might still have won but for bogeys on the 15th and 17th. For Vijay, the sense of frustration was even greater, since he may never have a better opportunity to lift the Claret Jug.
As the dreams of his rivals vanished into the Kent sky, Curtis became the first golfer to win the Open at the first attempt since Tom Watson at Carnoustie in 1975. The 26-year-old from Ohio had never previously teed up on a links and chose to arrive in Sandwich long before his more esteemed colleagues and seek the advice of the local professional, Andrew Brooks.
The more he played the links, the more adept he became. Curtis posted level 4s on Thursday and Friday to make the cut with ease and returned 70 and 69 on the weekend to become the only player in the field to better par. He was ranked 396th in the world before the Open and rated a 750-1 outsider by the bookmakers.
Although there's no law which says great players must win major championships, Curtis' fairytale victory was far from universally acclaimed. Playing in only his 16th professional event on his first season on the PGA Tour, Curtis was regarded by most as fortunate and some as undeserving.
The player himself, naturally, was sensitive to becoming the most surprising winner of the Open in living memory. "Right now, many people are probably saying, 'He really doesn't belong there,'" Curtis acknowledged. "But I know I do, and that's all that really matters."
He was right, in hindsight, even if the doubters who watched his performances the following year had their prejudices confirmed. Not only did the defending champion miss the cut at the Open in 2004, he missed 11 cuts in 20 events, including five in a row during the summer months. The suspicion Curtis would prove to be a flash in the pan was hard to dispute.
The tide turned in 2006 when he won twice in America – the Booz Allen and the 84 Lumber – before he produced his most consistent form to date last year, winning more than $2.6million and featuring in the US Ryder Cup side which defeated Europe at Valhalla.
When the first world rankings of 2009 were issued yesterday, Curtis was ranked 24th, one of nine Americans in the top 25.
"I will always take (winning The Open] as No 1, no matter what happens for the rest of my career," he said.
"It's such a unique experience to play golf in that style. Links golf, we only get to play that style once a year and it's truly amazing to be able to have that win as an accomplishment. I will never forget that."
A quiet American, Curtis' performances speak louder than any of the naysayers at Royal St George's could have imagined.
