Golf-Curtis hangs on for victory at Lumber Classic

FARMINGTON, Pennsylvania, Sep 18 (Reuters) Ben Curtis hung on to earn a hard-fought two-stroke victory at the 84 Lumber Classic.

In the final staging of the event yesterday, 2003 British Open champion Curtis made two late birdies to clinch his third victory on the PGA Tour.

He carded a 70 to finish at 14-under-par 274 in demanding conditions at the Mystic Rock course at Nemocolin Resort.

Fellow American Charles Howell (72) claimed second place at 12-under 276 with compatriot Brett Quigley another shot back in third.

Curtis, 29, became the first American player aged less than 30 to record three victories on the PGA Tour.

Thirteen players started the final round within three shots of the lead, and it was not until Curtis birdied the 15th and sank a 50-foot monster putt at the 16th hole for another birdie that a decisive move was made.

Widely regarded as a one-hit wonder after his shock victory at the 2003 British Open, Curtis went missing for nearly three years but he has now won twice in three months on the PGA Tour.

''I was in control of my emotions all day,'' Curtis told reporters.

''I just didn't putt well on the front nine, had a couple of three-putts, but I made nice par-saves on 10 and 11 and that got me going, gave me some confidence.

''Making long putts when you least expect it, like the putt on 16, that's what it takes to win,'' said Curtis, who collected 8,000 to jump to 22nd on the PGA Tour money list.

''I got a little lucky there. I just kind of planned for par. I hit a bad wedge shot in and was concentrating on getting good speed (with the putt) and it went in.'' SURPRISE GREETING That cushion allowed Curtis the luxury of bogeying the 17th and still cruising to victory with a par at the last, where he received a surprise greeting from wife Candace, who is expecting their first child next week.

She made the two-hour drive from their home in Ohio without telling her husband.

Curtis, 29, does not hit the ball far enough to dominate the game in the manner of Tiger Woods but he expects to build on this latest victory.

''This was a good week for putting, but overall I still need to work on getting more consistent,'' he said. ''I wish I could putt like this every week. I'd like to hit it a bit longer too, but if you can hit the fairways out here, you're okay, as long as you putt well.'' Howell was disappointed to post his seventh runner-up finish on tour, slamming officials for not allowing players preferred lies as they were during the first three rounds.

''I think that was a suspect decision to play the ball down today,'' he said. ''With the amount of mud the balls were picking up, we all struggled to get the ball close to the hole.'' Reuters AB VP1045