He called the decision “the most difficult but also the easiest I ever had to make It was a really sad thing, but he was quite a gentleman. I remember I had dinner with him and when he left he said, ‘I am sorry I caused you so much trouble’.”Roe took his shattering blow with equal dignity, but that must not stop all golf administrators working together to make sure it never happens again.. Even the Americans were looking at each other quizzically “Hey, who the hell is this guy?” was the general consensus. “Ben Curtis, Ben Curtis, Ben Curtis…” they muttered to themselves, trying to summon something, anything, from the mass of detail that clogs a golf writer’s mind. Indeed, even their anorak-in-chief, a man called Doug, knew nothing beyond the bare facts about Curtis.

“If Doug doesn’t know,” one of the group said, shaking his head, “then Ben Curtis just does not exist.’Well, they all know who he is now. Not that they should have been embarrassed by their ignorance of a golfer who must surely rank as the most unlikely winner in Open history. Compared to “Ben Curtis – Open champion”, Foinavon was Shergar, Wimbledon were Manchester United and Rocky Balboa was Muhammad Ali.Because nothing in Curtis’s short career as a professional had marked him down as one to note here this week, never mind one to reopen the record books for. The 26-year-old is a rookie on the US Tour having come through the renowned Q-School as the 26th of the 38 lucky ones last winter. His best placing on his first year up with the big boys was tied for 14th at the Western Open a fortnight ago, his first top-25 finish and one that earned him his berth in his first major at Sandwich.Otherwise, he has made eight cuts in 13 tournaments. His progress – though lucrative, netting him almost $200,000 – has been at the best steady. But then, when Curtis embarked on his maiden season in January, his sights were set merely on survival rather than immortality.

“This first year I just want to make the top 125 and keep my tour card, that’s all,” he told his local newspaper in Ohio. “Right now, I’m trying to keep everything low profile and just keep doing everything I’ve done before, which is to just go practise and work on my game. I’m determined not to put myself through the mill and do anything to hurt my body.”Last night, Curtis would have been forgiven for doing a lot of things that would have hurt his body. Not too severely, though, the world will hope, because he will soon discover that everyone will want a piece of it now.It is a long way back to find the seeds of the Open’s newest folklore.