UVA Men’s Golf | James Living Up to Billing in First Year

By Jeff White (jwhite@virginia.edu)
VirginiaSports.com

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — Likes millions of golfers around the world, Ben James has been closely following the Masters since the tournament began Thursday in Augusta. Ga. James envisions himself competing for a green jacket one day, and he has every reason to believe that’s a realistic goal.

Last summer, not long after graduating from high school, James played in a PGA Tour event, the Travelers Championship, on a sponsor exemption. He shot 72 in the first round and 69 in the second. He missed the cut by three strokes, but James drew confidence from his experience at TPC River Highlands in Cromwell, Conn.,

“I felt like I held my own,” he said. “Obviously, there’s a ton of nerves and it was my first experience, but tying Jordan Spieth and beating a couple of the best players in the world is pretty encouraging to me. There’s no doubt in my mind I could see myself out there competing and seeing where my game matches up against the best players in the world.”

The 6-fo0t-2 James, who’s from Milford, Conn., enrolled at the University of Virginia last summer as the nation’s top-ranked recruit and top-ranked boys junior amateur player. It’s been easy to understand how he earned that status. In September, in his debut as a Cavalier, James announced his arrival by shooting a 9-under-par 63 in the first round of the Streamstrong Invitational in Florida.

“He kind of put the whole world on notice,” Virginia head coach Bowen Sargent said.

Some 35 years ago, Sargent made his debut for the NC State Wolfpack. He doesn’t remember what he shot in his first college tournament, but he knows it wasn’t 63.

“It was probably closer to 83 than 63,” Sargent said, laughing.

James, who’s ranked 16^th among the nation’s college golfers, averages 69.52 strokes per round to lead the No. 21 Wahoos. He’s won three tournaments in 2022-23, including the Streamstrong Invitational, and he’s had four other top-5 finishes. Twice he’s been named the ACC Men’s Golfer of the Month.

“He’s as good as any player I’ve coached,” said Sargent, who’s coached three ACC individual champions and a U.S. Amateur runner-up during his tenure at UVA.

James, whose grandfather was a scratch golfer, swung a club for the first time as a 3-year-old. James’ father,…