Ben Curtis was born on May 26th, 1977 in Columbus, USA. He went to Kent State University where he was a star of the golf team. He had an excellent amateur career winning the Ohio Championship two years running and the 2000 Players Amateur Championship.

Ben Curtis made a name for himself by winning the 2003 British Open . It was his major debut and his best result before the event was T13. He was ranked number 396 in the world and when he holed his final putt he was three shots back. However a disastrous finish by Thomas Bjorn handed him the title.