Men’s Golf: James named first-team All-American by GCAA

Courtesy UVA Media Relations

Virginia first-year men’s golfer Ben James has been named a first-team All-American by the Golf Coaches Association of America, it was announced Wednesday. He is the first Cavalier to earn freshman to earn first-team All-America honors. He becomes the 11th player honored as an All-American in program history.

James (Milford, Conn.) had a historic season in his first year on Grounds. In 13 tournaments he posted a school-record stroke average of 69.0 for 40 rounds of play. He posted 11 top-six finishes, had 24 rounds in the 60s and 33 rounds of par or better. His sixth-place finish at the NCAA Championships tied as the second best by a Cavalier. He helped UVA reach match play at the NCAA Championships for the first time and post the best finish in stroke play (seventh) in program history.

James was a finalist for both the Haskins Award and Division I Jack Nicklaus Award which are presented to the nation’s top collegiate golfer. He was ranked No. 7 in the Golfstat standings prior to the NCAA Championships.

James picked up a school record five first-place finishes this season. He was co-medalist at the NCAA Las Vegas Regional, matching his school record 54-hole scoring mark by shooting 20-under 196.

At UVA’s season-opening tournament at the Streamsong Invitational, he also shot 20-under, 196 to capture medalist honors. At that event, UVA posted a team score of 56-under 808, the lowest tournament score in program history. Coming off that opening win, UVA was ranked No. 1 nationally by Golfweek, the program’s first-ever top ranking.

James was also first at the Hamptons Intercollegiate, the General Hackler Championships and  UVA’s own Lewis Chitengwa Memorial. He was an All-ACC selection and placed third at the league championship.

Congrats to Big Ben
The first UVA freshman to be named a 1st Team All-American! #GoHoos
📰 https://t.co/f8z2EuqBwN pic.twitter.com/UQRm11hoCE

— Virginia Men’s Golf (@UVAMensGolf) May 31, 2023