Ben Curtis heads into the new year with renewed confidence following a series of impressive performances in the latter half of 2008.
The Titleist golfer did not manage to win a title last year, but he recorded a joint-second finish at the US PGA Championship in August and placed fifth at the Tour Championship the following month.
Those performances allowed Curtis to finish the season with total earnings of $2.615 million and suggested he may be able to recapture his Major-winning form of 2003, when he clinched the Open at Royal St George''s.
In an interview with Reuters, Curtis said: "If I could always play like that, like the last six months of the year, I couldn''t wish for more.
"Overall, though, I can still get better and I need to improve."
For the 31-year-old American, 2008 was also a memorable year because he made his Ryder Cup debut in the US victory at Valhalla.
Playing with Steve Stricker, Curtis halved his match against Sergio Garcia and Paul Casey in the second-day fourballs.
05/01/2009