While fellow PGA Tour player Jackson Koibun was announcing his professional plans to the world, Ben James was already getting started.
James, a 23-year-old University of Virginia graduate who finished first in this year’s PGA Tour University Class and earned his PGA Tour card, teed off at 8:28 a.m. ET Friday at TPC Toronto in Caledon, Ont., site of this week’s RBC Canadian Open. About 30 minutes later, Koibun, who just finished his junior season at Auburn after leading the Tigers to their second NCAA title and sweeping the national player of the year awards again, posted that he would activate the card he earned through PGA Tour U’s Accelerated Program and join James on tour in a few weeks.
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High expectations are placed on Koibun, who is ranked among the top amateurs in the world.
But let’s not forget about James. On Friday, he, not Koibun, was a reminder of why he is one of only five college players to earn first-team All-American status all four years.
James shot a 7-under 63 to move to 10 under and took the lead midway through the second round, his first start as a PGA Tour member. James, a ball striker especially off the tee, started the day with an eagle on the par 5, but eagled the hole for the second time in the round, hitting a 22-foot second shot from 220 yards and dropping the putt. He added five more birdies and, without a bogey, is one stroke ahead of Sam Barnes, Haotong Li, Jesper Svensson and Jackson Suber (the latter playing alongside James and Neil Shipley).
“Everything went well today,” James said. “It was just one day. My putter was great, I hit the fairway, I got good numbers and I was able to take advantage of a pretty tricky scoring day.”
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To give you a little more background on James, the Milford, Conn., native verbally committed to UConn at just 11 years old and went on to become one of the top juniors on the AJGA circuit alongside Nick Dunlap, Caleb Surratt and Luke Clanton. James won the Phil Mickelson Award as the nation’s top freshman in 2023, but lost his game and confidence that summer. Hoping for a complete reset, he took refuge in a log cabin in Linville, North Carolina, a town of fewer than 300 people in the Blue Ridge Mountains. James returned to the U.S. Amateur, reaching the quarterfinals and helping the United States win the Walker Cup in St. Andrews. He will also be selected for the 2025 team. Starting in that U.S. Amateur, James finished 12th or better in 32 of his final 39 amateur and college tournament games, including his senior season with the Cavaliers, finishing in the top five in every start until finishing T-16 at the NCAA Championships.
“I wasn’t thinking about the actual outcome at all this week,” James said. “I’m just worried about getting comfortable, making new friends and having fun and seeing how everything goes and how my game stacks up. Of course there’s some things to work on, but I’m just trying to see how everything goes because this is just the baseline and my first pro debut.”
After making the final cut, James will compete in next week’s U.S. Open, as well as the Travelers Championship the following week on a sponsorship exemption. He will retain full status until next season.
As for the weekend in Canada, James doesn’t know what will happen if he ends up in the final group on Saturday or Sunday or both.
“I had no idea, because I’ve never been in this position before, so I’m really looking forward to finding out,” James said.
