The Open Championship

Congratulations goes to Ben Curtis, the 2003 Open Champion.

He beat out a charging Vijay Singh, Thomas Bjorn, Sergio Garcia, and ofcourse, Tiger Woods to win the coveted Claret Jug today at approximately 2pm central time.

Don't know who Ben Curtis is? Don't worry, most of the world doesn't either. He has never been in the Top 10 in ANY professional tour event, and has played the Hooters Tour the past two years after he graduated college.

He's a hometown boy from Ohio, and in his early twenties, has already taken part in the most important event of his life.

Ben was in the lead after the 3rd round at Royal St. Georges Golf Club, and after Tiger scorched the field with a round in the mid-sixties, Tiger was in the hunt on the fourth day of competition. The front round was almost non-eventful with Ben and Tiger exchanging birdies and pars, all the while fending off the likes of Bjorn and Singh at every pass.

The back nine was an exciting one, with Tiger three to four strokes back of Curtis and Bjorn the whole afternoon. Finally, right after a string of bogies from Ben (likely coming from the pressure of competition), Thomas Bjorn was in position to finally take the lead away from the young midwesterner.

In the pot bunker, right of the green on 16, Thomas needed 3 shots to leave the sand and finished the whole with a horrid double-bogey. This brought the whole field to its knees, with everyone sitting par or better thinking they now had a chance at the Jug.

But Tiger missed a pivotal par putt on 14 that would have vaulted him into a tie for the lead. With Tiger falling and Bjorn dropping, Ben Curtis stepped up the 18th and ripped a tee shot that would prove enough to hold off the field and win it all.