By Matt Slater BBC Sport at Royal Troon

Watching the 2003 winner start his defence of the Open Championship on Thursday, one could be forgiven for thinking it was a case of from Ben Who to Ben How.

Not so much how did Ben Curtis win at Royal St George's last year - although the more cynical would have thought that too - but how he will make the cut to take his defence to the final arguments.

A CHAMPION'S CV Date of birth: 26 May, 1977 Birthplace: Ostrander, Ohio Turned pro: 2000 Wins: One, 2003 Open 2004 PGA Tour record: seven of 13 cuts, one top-10 2004 earnings: $419, 495, 102nd in money list World ranking: 42 2003 Open review

Much was made of his fairy-tale victory at Sandwich - the first debutant to win a major since Francis Ouimet in 1913 - but the bottom line was that he deserved it.

He held his nerve when other, more experienced, players faltered. And as the only player under par after four brutal rounds on the Kent coast there really should have been no debate.

But there was. And on Thursday at Royal Troon, Curtis played like a man who had heard the debate and worried about the strength of his case.

Curtis was 396th in the world when he arrived at Royal St George's, and 35th by the time he had completed his first four competitive rounds on a links course.

The 27-year-old American is still relatively high in the rankings at 42nd, but he is starting to slide and his best result on the PGA Tour this year is a tie for eighth at the Memorial.

That said, Curtis came to Scotland with high hopes of mounting a challenge. He wasn't expecting to win, but he was keen to show golf's most knowledgeable galleries that he was a genuine talent.

Sadly, on a day for low scoring, Curtis' A game failed to turn up and "flash in the pan" was the verdict from the Troon jury. After all, he is only an "English" Open champion.

It probably didn't help that Curtis had to play in a tricky group. Joyless might be too harsh, but there was a distinct lack of banter in the group that comprised Curtis, Nick Faldo and Jean Francois Remesy.

Faldo is struggling to make the cut

Faldo, never the best person to play with if you're feeling nervous, had one of his brooding rounds of recent vintage - lots of birdie chances, very few birdie putts.

While Remesy, for whom the word jaunty seems to have been invented, mixed the sublime with the ridiculous - his bogey, double-bogey, birdie finish tells its own story - all day.

There was neither an inspirational spark nor a steadying influence. But the main problem for Curtis is that he is now nine shots off the lead.

There was no shortage of effort, and Ernie Els would have appreciated his superb up-and-down for par at the tricky 17th.

But his driving was only average, and his iron play the same. This meant that his total of 31 putts was better than it looks - he simply wasn't close enough to the pins.

It would be a shame if the man that captured the headlines 12 months ago fails to make the weekend, but it appears to be almost inevitable.

The only consolation is that he has an invite to this particular party every year until his 65th birthday - ample time to convince the gainsayers that there was more to Sandwich than beginner's luck.