 |
 |
 |
|
SOUTHPORT, England -- He's not a surprise any longer, though the way Ben Curtis played Saturday in the British Open, overcoming wind gusts that proved disastrous to virtually everyone else, was hardly expected.
Five years ago, no one knew Ben Curtis from Ben Franklin. Curtis showed up more tourist than competitor for the Open at Royal St. Georges, talking about visiting London on his way to the tournament.
|
|
| Ben Curtis shoots an even-par 70, then lets the leaders come down to him. (Getty Images) |
Now he's a multiple winner on Tour, not only familiar in face but, because he has an endorsement with a manufacturer who makes NFL-logo paraphernalia, familiar in attire. This week he's wearing a San Diego Chargers hat, because the Chargers play the New Orleans Saints in London this fall.
However, golf is Curtis' game, not football, and in the third round of this weather-tormented 137th British Open, nobody played golf better than Ben. His even-par 70, built around an eagle 2 on the third hole when he sank a 165-yard 9-iron, shared low round of the day and raised Curtis to a tie for fifth from a tie for 38th.
Yes, he went out early, before the winds reached gale force, with gusts of 48 mph, but that's the breaks. His ability to overcome the tough conditions impressed his playing partner, the man who is No. 2 in the world rankings, Phil Mickelson.
"Ben's round was incredible," said Mickelson, who shot 76. "He hit a lot of great putts and shot even par in this weather. It's one of the better rounds I've seen."
Curtis is at 217, tied with Ross Fisher and young U.S. hotshot Anthony Kim, both of whom had 1-over 71s, and Alexander Noren, who shot a 75.
"It was probably as tough as you can play out there," Curtis said. And it kept getting tougher. When he finished, he was in a tie for 19th. But as the scores kept climbing, so did he on the board, into the top 10, then into the top five.
Curtis is 31 now, and if not quite as famous as, say, Mickelson or Woods, he's known on both sides of the Atlantic. Unlike 2003, when he took the Open that others let slip away.
He became the first golfer to win the first major he entered, causing a lot of raised eyebrows as he raised the claret jug annually awarded the champion. The belief was Curtis was the longest shot to finish first since Jack Fleck beat Ben Hogan in a playoff for the 1955 U.S. Open.
This time, he opened with a 7-over 77 and seemed to be in danger of missing the cut. But a 69 on Friday and then that 70 in the third round suddenly make him a possible winner.
The unwritten rule in golf is to post a score and let others try to match it, which is exactly what Curtis did. When he completed his round, the speculation from the greenside interviewers was he would be in contention. And they were right.
