Slow pace in the NCAA Tournament. Nightmare fuel for any UVA fan. This time, it wasn’t basketball, and in this particular sport, the lower you score, the happier you are and the happier the viewers are.
Virginia Cavaliers second-year golfer Ben James had quite the showing in Carlsbad, California, over Memorial Day weekend. The star from Milford, Connecticut fired an opening day 1-over 73 on Friday, followed by 1-under 71 on Saturday to put him at even par heading into the final two days of the championship.
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Photo by C. Morgan Engel/NCAA Photos via Getty Images
James continued to fight over the holiday weekend, grinding out a 3-under 69 on Saturday, which put him in a great position to make a push to become the 2024 NCAA Division One Men’s Champion. On Sunday, he carded his best round of the tournament, coming in with a 3-under 69, but fell short on the final day after missing his 15-foot birdie putt to tie the lead and force a playoff with Georgia Tech’s Hiroshi Tai.
Ben James finished in a six-way tie for the 2nd and was asked about his birdie putt on the 18th; he said it was a “terrible putt” and a “bad read.”
The 15-footer on the 72nd hole isn’t the top story; however, coming out of the weekend for Ben James. It is the one-stroke penalty he was assessed for slow play on day one of the tournament.
Both Ben James and one of his two playing partners were assessed a one-stroke penalty on the 17th hole for playing too slow, eventually costing Ben James a chance of at least going into a playoff with now champion Hiroshi Tai. “It’s the rules, but it sucks. It stings,” said James.
The group was warned on the 14th hole tee box after James and one of his partners earned double bogeys and the other a bogey on the 13th hole. After the group completed the 13th, they were seemingly holding up the pace of play for the athletes behind them and were properly warned by one of the officials.
The one-stroke penalty was officially put upon Ben James and Baar Skogen of Texas Tech on the 17th, with the third player in the group, Ben Lornenz, not receiving the penalty, according to James.
“It’s a crazy game. There’s such a fine line in golf,” said James, and he is spot on.
The rule book is there for a reason, and the NCAA officials did exactly what they were supposed to do: warning the group before the penalty was assessed.
It is a shame it came down to Ben James coming in second instead of battling out in a playoff to take home the hardware, but James still represented the Cavalier faithful well, even after this unfortunate situation.
“I thought I played great. I had so much fun. It was so cool to have everyone out there, and it felt like a tour event.”
