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British Open Champion Ben Curtis Committed To Play In 2003 John Deere Classic Contact Barry Cronin Cronin Communications, Inc. 847-698-1801 EAST MOLINE, Ill. (July 20, 2003) - British Open champion Ben Curtis has committed to play in the 2003 John Deere Classic Sept. 8-14 at the Tournament Players Club at Deere Run. The 26-year-old PGA Tour rookie whose stunning one-stroke victory Sunday at Royal St. George's GC delivered him from relative anonymity to golfing immortality was on the John Deere Classic commitment list last week along with the names of 132 other PGA Tour players, some better known than others. Curtis, a native of Columbus, Ohio who played on the minor league Hooters Tour last year, was among the lesser known players on the list - until Sunday afternoon that is, when he drained an eight-foot par putt on the final hole of the championship and subsequently hoisted the Claret Jug. Curtis finished at one-under par, one stroke ahead of Thomas Bjorn and Vijay Singh and two strokes ahead of Tiger Woods and Davis Love. "The field for 2003 John Deere Classic already was shaping up to be one of the best the Quad Cities has ever seen," said Tournament Director Clair Peterson. "With the addition of this year's British Open champion, tournament week here figures to be even more exciting. We congratulate Ben Curtis and can't wait to welcome him to the Quad Cities." Curtis's British Open victory was his first victory of any kind since he earned his PGA Tour playing privileges at the organization's qualifying school late last year. Curtis is believed to be the first player since Francis Quimet in 1913 to win the first major championship he ever played. By winning the British Open in his first appearance, Curtis joins such legendary golfers as Tom Watson (1975), Tony Lema (1964), Ben Hogan (1953), Denny Shute (1933), and Jock Hutchinson (1921), all of whom won their first Open competitions. Curtis did not qualify to play in the British Open until he finished 13th at the Western Open on July 6, earning one of eight spots available to top finishers not otherwise qualified.