Maybe it's time for us to quit thinking of him as the fluke winner of The Open. That's 2 this year and 3 total and he just turned 30. He made a slew of clutch shots & putts today and looked very impressive. Is he America's best young(ish) hope ?
Maybe it's time for us to quit thinking of him as the fluke winner of The Open. That's 2 this year and 3 total and he just turned 30. He made a slew of clutch shots & putts today and looked very impressive. Is he America's best young(ish) hope ?
i would say America's best youngish hopes IMO are the before mentioned Ben Curtis, and Sean O'Hair. there is plenty of very good young (under 30) American Players who have plenty of talent, but are too inconsistent. i feel Ben Curtis (and Sean O'Hair) will move on and on and win plenty more in the next 3-5 years.
in Ben Curtis's case it isn't that he is much much better than the rest of the young fella's, but his wins this year (and ofcourse his Major win), he has had to hole some horrible putts for par (when in contention) and a fair share of Birdies (again when in contention), that is all i feel sets him apart at the moment, and it is probably the most important thing in Golf.
i had my doubts if he was ever gonna back up his Major win, but now he goes and does 2 within a few months, i expect a good few years from this man. a very strong mental game and IMO this is gonna take him from strength to strength.
next year might be a worry as his Baby (ready to drop anytime) will have his first year in the world, and i doubt his mind will be fully on the Golf, and i hope everything goes well for Ben and his Wife, and ofcourse his Son or Daughter. but he will win again if he keeps injury free, i would bet my life on it.
Though Paul Lawrie's Open victory (Van De Velde meltdown) was much more flukish than Ben Curtis's, career-wise they are similar.....
Paul Lawrie's Championships (5):
1996 Catalan Open
1999 Qatar Masters, The Open Championship
2001 Dunhill Links Championship
2002 Celtic Manor Resort Wales Ope
Ben Crane's Championships (3):
2003 Open Championship
2006 Booze Allen Classic, 84 Lumber Classic
Given their current ages (Ben is 29, Paul is 37) they appear to be on a fairly parallel track.
I think the Ryder Cup is coming to the Celtic Manor Resort in 2010, the location of Paul's last victory. Who knows? Maybe they'll both qualify for their sides by then.
Looks like the Cinderellas of 2003 have woken up. Shaun Micheel and Ben Curtis look like they should be on the Ryder Cup more than Brett Wetterich or Scott Verplank.
Looks like the Cinderellas of 2003 have woken up. Shaun Micheel and Ben Curtis look like they should be on the Ryder Cup more than Brett Wetterich or Scott Verplank.
no kidding. thet should have had Micheel just for a intimidation factor, (make that birdie and i'll bust your head)
I believe O'Hair and Ryan Moore have superstar potential...Curtis doesn't do it for me despite the Open win and two more this year. He seems like a guy who is about average in all facets of the game while the two aforementioned are above average in most all facets with more room for improvement (IMO) than Ben has.
Still, it was a good win this week for Mr. Curtis.
ben has gone through a swing change and boy has it paid off this year. I hope he gets more consistent next year however. He has 2 top 10's this season
and they were both wins, tells me that he knows how to finish the job, he has been inconsistent, but when he's been there on a sunday he has done his job. he would rather a load of top 10's with the wins, but he has finished the job when he has needed too.
Holing putts more than 100 feet in each round certainly helps. Don't know his stats but from what I have seen it looks like putting is the best part of his game.
September 17th, 2006, 08:05 PM
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