There’s Still Nothing Strange About Curtis

His gallery Wednesday at La Costa could have fit nicely in the back of a cab, which is what happens when you are as low-key as Ben Curtis.

When he won the British Open in July, Curtis held up the hallowed trophy, the Claret Jug, and stood stiffly as he accepted congratulations as “The Champion Golfer of the Year,” but that lofty introduction hasn’t guaranteed him fame, success or even notoriety.

Curtis says he feels comfortable flying under the radar, and that day in England when he won golf’s oldest and most cherished trophy isn’t going to change him. This 26-year-old son of a greens superintendent from Ohio was going nowhere slowly until he shot a 69 on the last day at Sandwich to beat Vijay Singh and Thomas Bjorn by one shot.

Many regarded it as the greatest upset in the history of golf, probably because it was the first major he had played. He was so far under the radar, he was nearly subterranean.

Curtis began the British Open ranked 396th in the world, which raised many eyebrows because no one knew they kept track of numbers that high.

But on the last day, it wasn’t Tiger Woods or Ernie Els or anybody else in the winner’s circle, it was the kid from Ohio with the buzz cut whose unflinchingly accurate golf game overshadowed a personality that could make a bed yawn.

No one is quite sure when it was mandated that golfers who win majors must be larger-than-life figures, or at the very least possess a personality with more wattage than a refrigerator light, but that’s the way it goes.

Woods is a superstar and simply by being himself has gravitational pull with the sporting public.

It’s the same way, in varying degrees, with Els and Davis Love III and Singh and even Mike Weir, Jim Furyk and Rich Beem. As for PGA champion Shaun Micheel, he has shown all the signs of becoming a consistent factor for a long time.

Where Curtis fits in is that he doesn’t, except in one major category: He’s the British Open champion. We should probably be reminded that it’s not as if all the other star players at Royal St. George’s that long Sunday decided they’d just step aside and let Curtis have the championship because the silver cup clashed with their flatware.

Last year after the British Open, Curtis’ best result was a tie for 16th. He missed three cuts. In December, at the PGA Grand Slam of Golf, where the four major winners play, Curtis won the least amount of money. He said he preferred to say he finished fourth. He should have gotten some credit for being funny.

At the Mercedes Championships to begin the PGA Tour in January, Curtis tied for last. He missed a chance to say that he tied for 30th. He also missed the cut at the Sony Open and again last week at Riviera, so when Curtis defeated Charles Howell III in Wednesday’s first round of the Accenture Match Play Championship, he said it was a confidence builder.

His putter hasn’t been cooperative, Curtis said, but he thinks it’s coming around, the same as his whole game. At one time, there were few better amateur golfers than Curtis, who was a three-time All American at Kent State and was ranked the No. 1 amateur in the world by Golfweek in 2000.

The pro game is a vastly different experience, and despite his amateur credentials, Curtis was struggling until he showed up at the British Open. If he hadn’t won there, he would have lost his PGA Tour card. Instead, he’s exempt through 2008, he’s ranked 38th, he has hit golf balls on David Letterman’s show and visited with President Bush in the White House.

Curtis, who will also play the European Tour this year, travels each week to tournaments with his wife, Candace, whom he married on the Saturday of the third round of the NEC Invitational, where he was playing. Curtis says that he would be lonely if his wife weren’t with him and that they enjoy seeing the sights at tournaments. If he weren’t so earnest, you would think he was selling tickets for the next bus tour.

Actually, Curtis isn’t selling anything, not even himself. Why bother? He said he learned something about himself after his British Open triumph, that it’s a tough road to follow to be some unknown rookie and then be in the thick of it with the best players in the world.

He also said he is a late bloomer, and if that’s how the British Open champion rates himself, he should know better than anybody.

Maybe, as time goes by, we’ll know more about Curtis too. And until that time comes, what you see with him is what you get. Any athlete who is seen as someone who doesn’t try to be anything other than what he is should be applauded for being real.

Isn’t that what we should expect from the Champion Golfer of the Year?