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Virginia's Ben James Advances to U.S. Amateur Quarterfinals With Thrilling Wins

James won a pair of dramatic matches on Thursday, including a 19-hole showdown with UNC's David Ford in the Round of 16
Matt Newton|
Virginia's Ben James Advances to U.S. Amateur Quarterfinals With Thrilling Wins
Virginia's Ben James Advances to U.S. Amateur Quarterfinals With Thrilling Wins

Virginia's Ben James has advanced to the quarterfinals of the U.S. Amateur Championship after picking up a pair of thrilling victories on Thursday at Cherry Hills Country Club in Colorado. 

In the Round of 32 in the morning, James defeated Zach Kingsland of SMU 1Up in a closely-contested match, with neither golfer leading by more than a hole for the duration. James birdied the 17th hole to take the lead and halved on 18 to win the match, setting up a heavyweight Atlantic Coast Conference showdown between James, the ACC's Freshman of the Year in 2023, and North Carolina's David Ford, the 2023 ACC Player of the Year, in the Round of 16 on Thursday afternoon. 

As was the case in the Round of 32, neither James nor Ford led by more than one hole from start to finish. James bogeyed the 17th hole, but Ford responded with a bogey of his own on the 18th to send the match to a 19th hole. James emerged victorious from the dramatic match by sinking a five-foot birdie putt on the 19th. The United States Golf Association gave James the nod for the top performance of the day, compiling a video of some the best shots from his two wins. 

Although there was no shortage of drama in either of Ben James's matches, his UVA teammate Rui Chang had perhaps even more theater and spectacle in his two matches on Thursday, the second of which is still in progress and will be concluded on Friday morning. Chang, who goes by Paul and who is joining Virginia's varsity program as a preferred walk-on this season after playing on UVA's club team for the last few years, won a back-and-forth match in the Round of 32 against Tennessee's Caleb Surratt, the world's seventh-ranked amateur, coming up with a clutch birdie on the 18th hole to force a playoff and then birdying hole No. 22 to win the match. 

In the Round of 16, Chang faced Auburn's John Marshall Butler in another tight affair. Chang made an incredible shot on the 16th, holing out from the fairway for an eagle, but Butler responded on the next hole to tie things up again. Both players parred on the 18th and the match was then suspended due to darkness. 

The match between Chang and Butler will resume on Friday at 10am Eastern and the winner will advance to face former Oregon golfer Jose Islas in the quarterfinals. James will take on Florida's Parker Bell in his quarterfinal match which will begin at 9:45am ET. The quarterfinals will be broadcast on Peacock from 12pm to 3pm ET and replayed on the Golf Channel from 6-8pm ET. 

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Matt Newton
MATT NEWTON

Matt launched Virginia Cavaliers On SI in August of 2021 and has since served as the site's publisher and managing editor, covering all 23 NCAA Division I sports teams at the University of Virginia. He is from Downingtown, Pennsylvania and graduated from UVA in May of 2021.

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