Benjamin James is an American amateur golfer who plays collegiately at the University of Virginia (UVA). He was the No. 1 ranked junior out of high school in 2022, and enjoyed a strong sophomore season in college, claiming a runner-up finish at the 2024 NCAA Division I Championship.
Get to know James better with these facts…
Benjamin James Facts:
1. James was born on May 30, 2003 in Milford, Connecticut.
2. He learned to play golf at the age of four after his father, Don, took him to Great River Golf Club, where his grandfather had worked for several years.
3. During a family vacation at Pinehurst Resort, which coincided with the US Kids World Championship, Don asked if Ben could play. When they were informed of the rigorous qualifying process, a four-year-old Ben cried. He would go on to qualify for the next five events after that year, and won the tournament as a 10-year-old. “Everything hit me at the 2013 US Kids World Championships at Pinehurst,” James told Golf Digest. “I won it when I was 10 years old. I realized I could win against the best kids that were my age, and that was the whole world. That’s when I knew I could do this.”
4. Growing up in Milford, which has brutal winters with temperatures falling to single digits, James had to get creative to play golf all year round, including practicing at an indoor facility in nearby Bethany.
5. After graduating from Hamden Hall Country Day high school, James enrolled at UVA in arts and sciences, and is part of the Cavaliers men’s golf team.
6. He has ranked as high as third in the World Amateur Golf Ranking and was the top-ranked junior by the AJGA and Junior Golf Scoreboard Rankings in 2022.
7. James made his PGA Tour debut at the 2022 Travelers Championship in his home state of Connecticut, where he missed the cut by three strokes. He has played at several PGA Tour events since, including the Procore Championship, 3M Open and Rocket Mortgage Classic, where he made the cut in 2024 and finished in a tie for 44th. He made his Major debut at the 2024 US Open at Pinehurst, missing the cut after scores of 75 and 71.
8. He has represented the United States at the Palmer and Walker Cups, helping Team USA win the 2023 and 2024 editions of both events.
9. As a freshman in college, he won the Phil Mickelson Outstanding Freshman Award. He enjoyed more success as a sophomore, becoming the first multiple first-team All-American in UVA history and claimed a runner-up finish behind Hiroshi Tai at the NCAA Division I Championship.
10. James has five wins in his amateur career, including the 2024 Valero Texas Collegiate at TPC San Antonio, which earned him an exemption into the PGA Tour's Valero Texas Open at the same venue in 2025.
Benjamin James Wins
- 2023 General Hackler Championship
- 2023 Lewis Chitengwa Memorial
- 2023 South Beach International Amateur
- 2023 NCAA Las Vegas Regional
- 2024 Valero Texas Collegiate
