Friday, June 30 2006 15:34 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Cromwell: Just two day after wrapping up a rain-delayed Booz Allen Classic win, Ben Curtis takes aim on Thursday at the PGA Tour's Buick Championship.

Nine inches of rain in the Washington area pushed the Booz Allen finish back to Tuesday morning, when Curtis finally secured his first victory since his surprise triumph at the 2003 British Open.

An opening 62 gave Curtis the lead last week and he went wire-to-wire for a five-shot victory. Now he's hoping to make winning less of a rarity.

"It was very difficult to win in your rookie year and it happened to be one of the majors," Curtis said.

"It's a tough thing to deal with," he said.

" I dealt with it well, but this obviously proves that I belong out here. I was having little doubts with the way my game was going, but I started off this year fresh," he said.

"Even last year I had some good tournaments, here and Chicago where I played well. I knew I belonged out here, it was just a matter of a long time getting that second win and hopefully I won't have to wait as long this time," he said.

To get his third career win, Curtis will have to overcome a field that does not include a player ranked in the top 20 in the world but that does feature defending champion Brad Faxon as well as a number of other previous winners here.

Faxon posted a popular victory last year in his 22nd appearance in the event. Firing a final round 61 to force a playoff, Faxon edged South African Tjaart van der Walt with a birdie on the first playoff hole.

Faxon has struggled since the win, which was the eighth of his career and first since the 2001 Sony Open. He has not had a top-10 finish since the win and is 116th on the money list this season.

Other former champions who will be teeing it up on the 6,820-yard, par-70 course at the TPC River Highlands are Woody Austin, Paul Azinger, Notah Begay, Olin Browne, Stewart Cink, David Frost, and Brent Geiberger.