01long wait ends for curtis
the two victories ben curtis recorded in 2006
meant a lot. they helped validate his triumph
in the 2003 british open, removing the “fluke”
label some tried to hang on him. but who would
have known that after winning the booz allen
classic and the 84 lumber classic it would be
six years before he’d hug another trophy? curtis
did so yesterday at the valero texas open,
where he spent most of the weekend leaking oil
before closing with a birdie on the final hole to
defeat John huh and matt every by two strokes.
curtis, who has played as much on the european tour as he has on the pga tour this year—
relying on his 10-year open exemption after only
having conditional status in the u.s. before winning—made a 23-foot par putt on no. 17 after
a dreadful second shot that was the key to the
victory. it also exemplified curtis the grinder.
after a pair of 67s, he closed 73-72 and was able
to put a pair of double bogeys on the front nine
saturday in his rearview mirror. now he can put
that six-year, 119-event victory drought in the
past as well.—Ron Sirak (@RonSirak)
darren carroll/getty images
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10 things // pga tour // lpga tour // champions tour // european tour //equipment // tim rosaforte
