1997 Triumph Tiger

Curtis cooks up surprise to claim Claret Jug

ESPN will be providing live commentary during all four days of The Open Championship from Royal St George's - along with all the news, views and opinion from the course when the tournament gets underway on Thursday.

2011 Open Championship Preview

The 140th Open Championship gets underway at Royal St George's this week, as South African Louis Oosthuizen looks to defend the title he won so handsomely at St Andrews last year. Oosthuizen was something of a surprise winner as he romped to victory at the home of golf - but still nothing like as much of a shock as the identity of the champion last time the Open was played in Kent...

People tend to perceive that, since his breakthrough at the Masters in 1997, the major championships since have routinely been dominated by Tiger Woods.

Between 1997 and 2008 Woods won 14 majors, so in many ways such a perception is understandable. In the very midst of that run, however, it's easy to forget that golf went through a run of six consecutive first time winners in the game's biggest events of all.

Some of those players had been forced to wait for their moment longer than many had anticipated - Phil Mickelson, for example. But for another, Ben Curtis, his triumph could not have been more unexpected.

After all, the 26-year-old arrived at Royal St George's in 2003 having never even played in a major championship. His trip to the Open was only the result of a tied-13th finish at the previous week's Western Open, a result he had needed more to boost his hopes of retaining his PGA Tour playing privileges than anything else.

The trip to Sandwich was thus last minute. His accommodation was cramped and lacking in many amenities, while his caddie was a local loper by the name of Andy Sutton.

Sutton, based in nearby Maidstone, had only even been put in touch with Curtis after a speculative call to a sports agency.

"I really wanted to get some work for The Open because it was at Sandwich and I live up the road in Maidstone, so I fancied working and being able to sleep in my own bed," Sutton recalled. "I picked up the phone and called IMG. I said 'Can you get me on a bag?'

"They said they had a guy coming over from America called Ben Curtis. I'd never heard of him."

Curtis had never played links golf before, so he was fortunate that Sutton was an expert in such conditions and had a wealth of accumulated knowledge about the idiosyncratic Royal St George's layout.

Who's doing what?

It a sunny but occassionally showery day in cornwall, i've just been watching goodwood festival of speed on itv4 and working out the dates for next years NW200. The wife is pregnant and due to drop her load in October so were planning along weekend at the NW200 as a "wetting the babies head "due all be it belated but a good excuse for a get away The mad rush of work that has come in means I have even cancelled some days I was going to be off. I have a week in Spain with the family and some weekends away. Have lost a day fo the kids weekend as I have to work the Friday. Have the Friday of the National still booked off but had planned a longer trip. And probably will not be able to get much more than a long weekend until well into next year. I am on a maternity cover contract and the woman is not due back to work until April. All companies face the same costs. It does not distort competition or make one company different to another. There are costs of accommodation, national insurance, insurance, rates, IT equipment and compared with most of those the cost of maternity leave is a fraction. When you budget to set up a company you work out al these costs in advance. An investigation by HMRC would probably cost more.

Triumph, A Century of Passion and Power

Walneck's Classic Cycle Trader, September 2007

The Dune Buggy Phenomenon

Motor Racing at Oulton Park in the 1960s

Walneck's Classic Cycle Trader, June 2008