SANDWICH, England, 21 July 2003 — Little-known American Ben Curtis produced one of the biggest surprises in major championship history yesterday, winning the 132nd British Open by a stroke.
The 26-year-old Curtis, a 250-1 outsider at the start of the tournament, fired a closing 69 to finish at one-under 283, Denmark’s Thomas Bjorn having thrown away a three-shot lead with four holes remaining.
Ryder Cup player Bjorn, who bounced back from a bogey at the first with birdies at three, four, seven and 14, took three shots to escape from a greenside bunker at the par-three 16th. He then bogeyed the par-four 17th, failing to get up and down from just off the green, to hand victory to the American.
World number one Tiger Woods, who had been bidding for a ninth career major, faltered after a strong start, closing with a 71 to end up joint-fourth at one over, level with Davis Love III, who shot a 72.
Curtis, a rookie on the PGA Tour who qualified for the British Open by tying for 13th at the Western Open earlier this month, produced sparkling form with his approach play over the first 11 holes.
Appearing remarkably calm, he reeled off four birdies to reach the turn in four-under-par 32, at that point tied for the lead with Singh. As Singh faltered at the eighth, Curtis picked up further shots at 10 and 11, rifling his approaches to five and 12 feet, to stretch his lead to two.
Woods lost momentum with two bogeys around the turn after three early birdies in four holes had lifted him to within a stroke of then-leader Singh with 11 to play at a sun-drenched Royal St. George’s. But Woods dropped his first shot of the day at the 455-yard eighth, missing a five-foot putt for par, and also bogeyed the par-four 10th, where he found heavy rough with his second shot and failed to get up and down in two. Six-time major champion Nick Faldo, who began the day five off the pace, briefly closed to within two of the lead with a birdie-three at the fifth and an eagle-three at the seventh, where he holed out from 20 feet.
