CALEDON, Ont. (AP) — Ben James sank a 25-foot eagle putt to start his round in his professional debut at the RBC Canadian Open and never let up until he shot a 7-under 63 to take a one-shot lead.
James was an All-American all four years at the University of Virginia, where he topped the PGA Tour college rankings and earned his card through the 2027 season.
“Everything came together today. It was just one day,” James said. “My putter was great, I hit the fairways, I put up good numbers and I was able to take advantage of what was a very difficult day to score.”
James finished at 10-under 130, one stroke ahead of a group of five players that included Sam Burns, who played in the final group and tied for fourth at Memorial last week.
Brooks Koepka shot a 68 and was two strokes behind Tommy Fleetwood.
James enters the weekend playing bogey-free at TPC Toronto’s Osprey Valley course and bogey-free over his final 33 holes. This is his 10th PGA Tour tournament, including two U.S. Opens, but his first as a professional.
“I wasn’t thinking about the outcome at all this week. I was just worried about getting comfortable, making new friends and having fun, and how everything was going to go,” James said. “Obviously there are some things to work on, but I’m just trying to see how everything goes. This is just a baseline, because this is my first pro debut. I had a great two days. But I’m just trying to get better.”
Burns had a 67 and was tied with Jackson Suber (65), Haotong Li (64), Keith Mitchell (64) and Jesper Svensson (65) at 131.
Tommy Fleetwood, who Nick Taylor holed that memorable 72-foot eagle putt to lose in the Canadian Open playoffs three years ago, shot a 65 and joined Koepka in a two-back group that included defending champion Ryan Fox (66).
Koepka stalled early in the round by missing his tee shot on the 13th and had to make a double bogey, and he also bogeyed the par-3 14th. He also had four birdies and an eagle on the back nine, starting at No. 10, the latter on a 379-yard drive on the par-5 18th.
He was thinking more about the lateral drive.
“I want that tee ball back at No. 13,” Koepka said. “I stood there for 10 minutes and tried to hit a low fade and got a high draw. When I stood there and started thinking long enough, that was kind of a problem. I’d like to get that back. But other than that, it was a solid play, no problems. The ball striking wasn’t phenomenal, but it was good.”
Eric Cole, who was tied for first and within six places after 18 holes, started with a triple bogey and his day never got better. He shot a 76 and missed the cut, meaning he won’t have a chance to play in next week’s U.S. Open. Cole enters this week ranked 63rd in the world, and the top 60 players are exempt from attending Shinnecock Hills.
James qualified for his third straight U.S. Open by qualifying through the 36 holes in New York. His focus now is on golf’s fifth-oldest championship (the Canadian Open dates back to 1904) and his professional debut.
“I’ve never been in this position before, so I’m really looking forward to finding out,” James said over the weekend. “One of the things I wanted to do was, ‘Let’s try to get into that last group.’ I just want to feel what it feels like and see what happens in that situation. I’m just excited because I’m so young. I don’t have any expectations. I’m just going to play as best as I have the last two days.”
