Men’s Golf: James, Chang move on to Round of 32 at U.S. Amateur

Courtesy UVA Media Relations

Virginia golfers Ben James and Rui Chang won their Round of 64 matches to advance in match play at the U.S. Amateur Championship. This year’s event is taking place at Cherry Hills Country Club in Cherry Hills Village, Colo.

James (Milford, Conn.) defeated junior amateur Trevor Garus 4 and 2 in his match. After a back-and-forth front nine, Garus held a 1Up lead heading to the 11th hole. James then won five of the next six holes to post the victory. It marks the second consecutive year James has advanced to the Round of 32 at the event.

Chang (People’s Republic of China) and UNLV senior Caden Fioroni also went back and forth trading the lead over their first 14 holes with neither player leading by more than one win. Chang, a junior at UVA, used birdies on No. 15 and 17 to secure a 2Up victory.

The Cavaliers’ third competitor in match play, first-year Josh Duangmanee (Fairfax), lost his match 5 and 3 to Auburn junior Brendan Valdes.

On Thursday, James will face SMU sophomore Zach Kingsland in the Round of 32 at 11:10 a.m. ET. Chang will face off against Tennessee sophomore Caleb Surratt in a match that starts at 12:20 p.m. ET.

Thursday’s competition will be broadcast on Peacock from 6-7 p.m. ET and on Golf Channel from 7-9 p.m. ET.