Eric Cantona talked about how the media - like seagulls - follow the trawler to pick up scraps.
They quickly leave them alone when they appear to be short of substance.
Apart from joint eighth place at the respected Memorial Tournament in the United States, Curtis has done very little on the American tour since his Sandwich triumph.
In 13 PGA tournaments in America this year, he has made the cut only seven times. In seven events on the European tour, he has finished only once in the top 20.
So little was expected at Troon. The chances of Curtis pulling off another sensation seemed rare.
The American did not appear on the first tee until the last minute, prefering to practice his putting as much as possible while Faldo and Frenchman Jean Francois Remesy headed off to start the round.
Curtis started solidly with a par at the 370-yard opening hole. But Faldo, who started the day at five over par, immediately got into trouble, hitting his second shot into the crowd at the back of the green.
The Englishman, who has won the Open twice at Muirfield in 1987 and 1992 and once at St Andrews in 1990, dropped a shot at the par-four hole, chipping back and putting in three shots. He dropped back to six over par for the Championship.
After both players took a par at the second, Curtis then dropped a short at the third after he hit his tee shot into a deep bunker on the left of the fairway. The American played a good shot out but it was short of the green and he failed to get home in two.
Curtis battled back with a birdie at the next hole, but he knew he would still be struggling to make the cut at four under and desperately needed to lift his game.
He did move up to three over after a birdie at the seventh but immediately lost the shot again when he took four at the 123-yard eighth, the "Postage Stamp" hole.
Faldo, who will be 47 on Sunday, has tried everything from glasses to contact lenses - and also contemplated laser surgery - to get a clearer view of a golf course this year.
For a moment, the three-times Masters champion appeared to be launching a comeback when he took birdies at the fourth and fifth holes. But he immediately lost the shots again with bogeys at the following three holes to go seven over after eight tough holes.
Meanwhile, Ian Poulter's sevenweekold son Luke continues to make good progress after being released from a Glasgow hospital.
Poulter made news yesterday with his colourful outfit but the only thing he was really interested in was his son's recovery. The baby was taken in on Sunday after an infection caused his temperature to soar on Sunday morning.
"The anti-biotics appear to have got to grips with the infection, although the results of blood tests are still being awaited," said Poulter's manager Paul Dunkley.
