Future UVA golfer James getting a taste of PGA Tour at this weekend’s Travelers Championship

By Jerry Ratcliffe

Virginia men’s golf coach Bowen Sargent will be wearing a wide smile if you bump into him today.

Sargent pulled off a recruiting coup last year when he signed the No. 1 junior golfer in the United States in Connecticut native Ben James. If that wasn’t enough to smile about, James’ activities this week certainly is.

The 19-year-old future Cavalier is playing in the PGA Tour’s Travelers Championship at the TPC River Highlands course in Cromwell, Conn. He’s playing on a sponsor’s exemption, and after Thursday’s first round, James is tied for the 109th spot in the field with a 2-over-par finish, good enough to lead Jordan Spieth, Jason Day and James’ friend, Lanto Griffin.

Two former UVA players are also in the field. Denny McCarthy, who pocketed more than $500,000 last weekend after finishing in a tie for seventh in the U.S. Open at Brookline, Mass., is tied for 69th at even par. Ben Kohles is tied at 131 at 3 over par.

James began playing golf when he was 4 and broke 90 at Great River Golf Club in his hometown two years later. He broke 80 when he was 9 and won the U.S. Kids Golf World Championship at 10 in 2013. James recently won the Dustin Johnson World Junior Championship this past March, then the TaylorMade Invitational in May to earn the No. 1 junior ranking according to the American Junior Golf Association.

The Travelers has a history of awarding sponsor exemptions to young players such as Patrick Cantlay, Jon Rahm, Rickie Fowler, Bryson DeChambeau, Collin Morikowa and Webb Simpson.

Following the Travelers tournament, James is scheduled to play in the North & South Amateur in Pinehurst, the Trans Mississippi Am and the Western Am, and is aiming to qualify for the U.S. Amateur before heading to Charlottesville for fall golf for Sargent in late August.