Final summer time, Ben James was experiencing a few of his worst golf.
Now, he’s enjoying a few of his finest.
James received the Valero Texas Collegiate on Monday, firing a closing 6-under 66 at TPC San Antonio to tie Auburn sophomore Josiah Gilbert at 12 beneath. James then topped Gilbert in a playoff to earn an exemption into subsequent yr’s Valero Texas Open.
James started the ultimate spherical trailing Gilbert by 5 pictures. He bogeyed his first gap of the day, too. However James then rattled off seven birdies in his final 13 holes, together with on the par-5 18th, the place James hit 3-wood from 260 yards to 10 ft and two-putted to drive additional holes.
Within the playoff, James hit a fair higher shot – 3-wood from 267 yards to 7 ft – and his second two-putt on the final sealed his spot within the April 3-6 Tour occasion on the identical course. James already owns six Tour begins up to now, together with final week’s Procore Championship and this yr’s Rocket Mortgage Basic, the place he made his first reduce (T-44).
James has been on a tear because the finish of final summer time. After profitable 5 instances as a freshman, James went by a hunch that lasted a number of months, and he hit all-time low eventually yr’s Western Novice, the place he tied for 142nd. After that end, James retreated to a log cabin in Linville, North Carolina, a small resort group within the Blue Ridge Mountains. He was driving it unusually poor and placing extra strain on his shaky placing, however most significantly, he had misplaced some pleasure.
“Simply needed to isolate myself,” James mentioned, “and simply type of labored on my sport in peace, nobody to hassle me.”
Since that escape, James has dominated. He reached the quarterfinals eventually yr’s U.S. Novice at Cherry Hills earlier than serving to the U.S. win the Walker Cup in September and profitable the South Seashore Worldwide Novice final December. Throughout his sophomore season for the Cavaliers, he didn’t end worse than T-16, and he capped the marketing campaign with a runner-up on the NCAA Championship. He then certified for the U.S. Open, made the ultimate eight of the Western Novice, reached match play on the U.S. Novice after which opened his junior yr with a third-place exhibiting on the Inverness Intercollegiate.
James has an outdoor shot at a PGA Tour card subsequent summer time, too, as he at present sits at 11 PGA Tour College Accelerated factors. He will get some extent for each made reduce on Tour, and an extra level for a Tour top-10. He can also earn three factors apiece for profitable the NCAA particular person title, Haskins Award (nationwide school participant of the yr, voted on by gamers and coaches), Nicklaus Award (nationwide school participant of the yr, voted on by a committee) and Hogan Award (nationwide novice participant of the yr, consists of all outcomes and voted on by a committee).
Virginia, which captured the staff title at Inverness, ended up T-3 with Auburn, 11 pictures again of Oklahoma, which beat runner-up Ole Miss by six pictures.
