Golf: UVA’s Sambach, James named First-Team All-Americans by Golfweek

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Posted on Wednesday, Jun. 14, 2023, 9:09 pm

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Courtesy UVA Media Relations

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Golfweek has named Virginia sophomore women’s golfer Amanda Sambach and men’s freshman Ben James first-team All-Americans, it was announced Tuesday.

Sambach becomes the second Cavalier to earn first-team All-America honors, joining Brittany Altomore, who received the honor from the Women’s Golf Coaches Association in 2013. Sambach was tabbed an honorable mention All-American by Golfweek last season.

Sambach (Pinehurst, N.C.) is ranked No. 10 in Golfweek’s final individual standings for the 2022-23 season.

This season Sambach set the UVA record for wins in a season with three. She opened the year by taking medalist honors at the ANNIKA Intercollegiate. She won the ACC Championships by shooting 14-under 202, which was the best performance in the event’s history and also set the Virginia 54-hole scoring record. At the NCAA Regional, she finished as co-medalist. Over the course of 10 tournaments, she posted five top-10 finishes.

Sambach’s 71.31 stroke average was the best single-season mark in Cavalier history as was her total of 19 rounds of par or better. She also set UVA records for par-3 scoring (3.0081 avg.) and par-5 scoring (4.7156). She matched the Virginia single-season mark with five eagles.

Sambach was a finalist for both the Division I PING Women’s Golf Coaches Association Player of the Year honor and the ANNIKA Award, both of which are presented to the nation’s top female collegiate golfer.

She recently helped Team USA win the 2023 Arnold Palmer Cup, a Ryder Cup-style tournament featuring the top men’s and women’s university/college golfers matching the United States against a team of International players.

James previously earned the same distinction from the Golf Coaches Association of America. James and Tennessee’s Caleb Surratt were the only freshmen to receive the honor.

James (Milford, Conn.) is ranked No. 3 in Golfweek’s final individual standings for the 2022-23 season, the highest among freshman players.

James was named the Phil Mickelson Most Outstanding Freshman Golfer this season by the GCAA. He was a finalist for both the Haskins Award and Division I Jack Nicklaus Award which are presented to the nation’s top collegiate golfer.

James 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 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.

He recently helped Team USA win the 2023 Arnold Palmer Cup, a Ryder Cup-style tournament featuring the top men’s and women’s university/college golfers matching the United States against a team of International players.