Surging Curtis rekindles Open romance
TURNBERRY, Scotland (Reuters) - American Ben Curtis deepened his love affair with the British Open by charging into contention in Thursday's opening round.
Six years after producing one of the biggest shocks of all time in the majors by winning the Open at Royal St George's as a rookie, Curtis fired a sparkling five-under-par 65 in the tournament's 138th edition.
He birdied four of the last six holes to end a low-scoring day level with compatriot Tom Watson, one stroke behind pacesetting Spaniard Miguel Angel Jimenez.
"I just love playing links golf, knowing you have to control your irons pretty well and keep the ball out of those fairway bunkers," Curtis, 32, told reporters after carding an eagle, five birdies and two bogeys.
"You've got to kind of manage your way around the golf course and I like doing that. To be able to hit a lot of different shots is fun."
In 2003, Curtis started the British Open as a 300-1 outsider before stunning the golfing world with a one-stroke victory over Dane Thomas Bjorn and Fiji's Vijay Singh.
Ranked a lowly 396th in the world at the time, he became the first player to triumph on his Open debut since Watson in 1975.
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