Ben Curtis

Height: 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)

Weight: 175 lb (79 kg; 12.5 st)

Birthday: May 26, 1977

College: Kent State University

Year turned pro: 2000

Birthplace: Columbus, Ohio, USA

Country: USA

Sponsor: –

Curtis was born in Columbus, Ohio and grew up around golf; his family runs the Mill Creek Golf Club which is situated in Ostrander where Curtis grew up. At College, at Kent State University, Curtis was a golf star, and he turned professional after graduating with a degree in recreation management in 2000.

He earned his first PGA Tour card that year, having finished joint 26th at the qualifying school. This meant that he completely missed having to compete on the second tier Nationwide Tour. His start on the PGA Tour was inauspicious, but 2003 saw his star start to rise as he won the Open Championship despite being a 300-1 outsider. This achievement was made all the more impressive by the fact that this was Curtis’s first appearance in a major. He finished that season on a high, being named PGA Tour Rookie of the Year.

Although winning the Open Championship gave Curtis the advantage of a five year exemption on the PGA Tour and a ten year exemption on the European Tour, he did not really make the most of this, managing only one top ten PGA Tour finish in 2004 and two in 2005. At this point Curtis’s form started to improve and he achieved two PGA Tour wins in 2006, at the Booz Allen Classic and the 84 Lumber Classic.

Continuing with his improvement in form, 2008 was Curtis’s most consistent season on the PGA Tour. That season he only missed the cut four times, and secured five Top 10 finishes. Although Curtis displayed some consistency in 2009 he was not as successful, finishing the season outside of the money list Top 100. Curtis continued to struggle on the PGA Tour and didn’t achieve any further success until he won his fourth PGA Tour event at the Valero Texas Open in 2012; this was his first win in six years. The improvement in form continued and he finished in a tie for eleventh place in the PGA Championship; the best finish he had achieved in a major championship for four years.

Away from golf Curtis is married to Candace, and the couple has two children. The family lives in Kent, Ohio, and Curtis and Candace have set up the Ben Curtis Family Foundation to help disadvantaged children in the area.

As of the end of 2014 Curtis had achieved four wins on the PGA Tour, amassing total prize money of $13,708,201.