Ben Curtis is an American golfer who won the British Open Championship of 2003. This victory was considered a major upset, as the 26-year old's best finish in a professional tournament prior to his victory had been 13th place at the Western Open only two weeks before. His Western Open finish, was what allowed him to qualify to play in the British Open.
The 2003 Open Championship was Curtis' first appearance in a major; he became the first golfer since Francis Ouimet in the 1913 U.S. Open to win his major-championship debut.
On the last day of the British Open Championship of 2003 he was most certainly benefiting from the fact that he could close his 1-under-par score without the added pressure of knowing it was for the win. Thomas Björn was three shots ahead of Curtis when Curtis hit his final putt, but ended up dropping back four shots on the closing holes.
As an amateur, Curtis found much success, winning the Ohio Amateur Championship in 1999 and 2000 (joining professional golfers John Cook and Arnold Palmer as the only men to win the Ohio Amateur in consecutive years), and also the Player's Amateur Championship in 2000.
Ben Curtis is also the real name of Dell Steve, the character from Dell's highly successful advertising campaign. His employment was terminated after he was arrested for marijuana possession in February, 2003. He was injured during the September 11th attack but stayed on the scene to help others.
