Ben Curtis, Kent State (Men's Golf)
Long before his 2003 British Open Title and four PGA Tour wins, Ben Curtis made a name for himself at Kent State University. A three-time All-American, Curtis earned honorable mention honors in 1998 and second-team honors in 1999 and 2000. In addition, Curtis was named MAC Golfer of the Year, Sportsman of the Year and was the MAC Championship medalist as a senior in 2000.
Curtis led the Golden Flashes to a MAC title in each of his four years and helped Kent State to a ninth-place finish at the 2000 NCAA Championships. Curtis is the Golden Flashes all-time leader in career top-10 finishes with 28, and stroke average at 72.23. In the classroom, the honors continued to follow Curtis who was chosen to the CoSIDA Academic All-District Second-Team in 1998 and 1999.
Upon reaching the PGA Tour in 2003, Curtis immediately made a name for himself by winning the British Open in just his 16th Tour start, becoming the first player in 90 years to win the first major golf championship he ever played.
Proving the victory was no fluke, Curtis has won three more times on the Tour since with his most recent victory coming at the Valero Texas Open in April, 2012. Along the way he secured a spot on the winning United States Ryder Cup squad in 2008, following a summer in which he tied for second place at the PGA Championship, had another top 10 at the British Open and finished in ninth-place in the FedEx Cup standings.
A native of Stow, Ohio, Curtis is married to former Kent State golfer Candace Beatty and the couple has a son, Liam, and a daughter, Addison.
