It turns out Baltimore Ravens are quite the birdies.
Donning the purple and black outfit as part of his deal with the NFL to wear local teams’ colors, Ben Curtis birdied four holes of the Booz Allen Classic by 9 a.m. on Thursday.
“Who would have thought [while wearing] my least favorite team that I would shoot my career low?” said Curtis, a die-hard Cleveland Browns fan.
Who would have thought Curtis would finish with a sizzling 9-under 62 at the TPC at Avenel? He’s winless in four years on the PGA Tour with nine top 25 finishes. Curtis’ best finish this year was 20th in the FBR Open in February. He finished 19 shots back at the U.S. Open on Sunday.
Granted, Curtis has one win, and it was a really big one in the 2003 British Open. But that has been it since joining the tour that year. He was 141st on the Tour in 2004 and 129th last year.
Curtis was becoming a fluke — someone who grabbed a lifetime achievement during his rookie season. He was hitting wedge shots on rooftops for David Letterman after the British Open, but couldn’t find a fairway on the course. Curtis’ visit with President Bush must have included a presidential pardon for his forthcoming play.
But it all came together during Thursday’s first round. The sixth group out on the course with most of the gallery following hometown favorite Fred Funk, Curtis sliced his way through the moist morning air for a quick 4-under before parring the next seven holes. He then birdied five straight before parring the 18th when missing an eight-foot putt by 13 inches.
“Everything was easy after the first hole,” Curtis said. “I hit every shot wherever I wanted to. It was just slow and easy.
“The fairways looked like they are 80 yards wide and the greens look huge so you just kind of free swing. … This is what you dream of and this is what you play and practice for, to get to that feeling. You don’t get it very often so when you feel comfortable you want to take advantage of it.”
It used to be such an easy game for the grandson of a golf course owner. Curtis grew up just 50 yards from the practice putting green of Mill Creek Golf Course in Ostrander, Ohio where his father is the superintendent. He started playing at age three and won two straight state titles in high school.
College ball was easy, too. The three-time All-American at Kent State joined Arnold Palmer and John Cook as the only two-time Ohio Amateur winners. He became the world’s top-ranked amateur in 2000.
Maybe his shocking rookie win was one of the worst things that could happen to Curtis, though. He admits the sudden fame tainted his approach. Curtis played far too many tournaments instead of occasionally resting, afraid to turn down officials wanting a British Open champion.
“I thought I was dealing well with [winning the British Open], but looking back I would do things differently,” he said. “It was a lot at once. Very tiring. I wasn’t physically ready to go. I fell into bad habits. I started to go downhill and just kept going.”
Straight down to eight missed cuts. Indeed, Curtis made only 17 of 44 cuts in 2004-05 versus three Top 10 finishes.
This year looks different, though. Curtis made of seven of 10 cuts this year and opened four tournaments with sub-70 rounds. His first child due in September has Curtis admittedly concentrating even more this season to turnaround a career once offering endless promise.
Maybe it will come this weekend.
Curtis will certainly gain a following on Friday. His Redskins outfit won’t hurt. The Ravens clothes may come back for Sunday, though. After all, everyone loves birdies.
Rick Snider has covered local sports for 28 years. Contact him at [email protected].
