James Leads Virginia Men's Golf to Berth in 2023 NCAA Championships

For the first time since 2017, the Virginia men's golf team is headed back to the NCAA Championships. Behind an incredible performance from freshman sensation Ben James, who tied his own school record and earned co-medalist honors, UVA placed third as a team at the NCAA Las Vegas Regional at Bear's Best Las Vegas to secure a bid to the 2023 NCAA Men's Golf Championships.

James was as consistent as he was spectacular, shooting 65 in the first round, 66 in the second, and 65 in the final round on Wednesday to finish at 20-under 196, tying with San Francisco's Matthew Anderson at the top of the individual leaderboards to share medalist honors. His three round score matched the UVA program record he set back at the beginning of the season and James became the first Cavalier in program history to win a NCAA Regional.

That's 5⃣ wins this season for Big Ben!
He finishes the NCAA Las Vegas Regional at 20-under 196, matching the school record score he set when he won his first tourney of the year! pic.twitter.com/ovd7gOrt13
— Virginia Men's Golf (@UVAMensGolf) May 17, 2023

James was not alone as three other Wahoos finished under par. Deven Patel placed 14th at 11-under 205, his best tournament score of his collegiate career. Bryan Lee shot 6-under 210 to place 36th and Pietro Bovari shot 2-under 214 to play 48th.

Virginia finished strong with a team score of 16-under 272 in the final round on Wednesday, bringing the team's overall tournament score to 49-under 815, which set a program record for lowest score at a NCAA Regional. UVA's opening round on Monday was even better, as the Cavaliers shot 19-under 269, breaking the single-round program record for a NCAA Regional.

Arizona State, the 4th-ranked team in the country, won the regional at 59-under 805, and 8th-ranked Stanford was the runner-up at 57-under 807. Four strokes behind Virginia was San Francisco, followed by East Tennessee State, which defeated Northwestern in a playoff to secure the fifth and final bid.

Virginia is advancing to the NCAA Championships for the 18th time in program history. This marks the first time since 2016 that both the UVA men's and women's golf teams are advancing to the NCAA Championships.

Virginia will compete in the 2023 NCAA Men's Golf Championships from May 26-31 at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Arizona. The UVA women's golf team will compete in the NCAA Championships from May 19-24 at Grayhawk Golf Club.

To stay up to date on all Virginia Cavaliers sports news, follow CavaliersNow on social media:

Facebook: @CavaliersNow
Twitter: @CavaliersNowFN