Ben James Has a Funny Definition of "Pretty Good"

Four years ago, Ben James made his PGA TOUR debut as a 19-year-old amateur, freshly graduated from high school, at the 2022 Travelers Championship. Friday—back in Cromwell, Connecticut but this time in his third start as a professional–he stepped off the 18th green at 8-under, headed for the weekend in the no-cut Signature Event tied for 13th. The adjustment to golf’s highest level is no easy task, but the 23-year-old is already putting together an impressive resume.

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June has been a busy month for Ben. It began with the end of his final collegiate season, where he topped the 2026 PGA TOUR University rankings to secure his TOUR card. Then he came back and… you know what? I’ll let Ben take it from here.

“I came back and did [U.S.] Open Qualifying; was nice to get in there. Played RBC [Canadian Open]; played pretty good there. Played nice last week.”

Thanks, Ben.

One thing is clear: Ben James and I have very different definitions of “pretty good” and “nice”.

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The T54 finish at the RBC Canadian Open may not have been what he was looking for, but I think holding the solo lead after 36 holes in your professional TOUR debut is worth a little bit more praise. He shot a Friday 63–low round of the day–to reach 10-under and lead the likes of Matt Fitzpatrick, Justin Rose, Sam Burns and Collin Morikawa.

That’s better than “pretty good”.

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Now let’s get to “last week”. In case that wasn’t clear, that was the U.S. Open. Ben qualified for the championship just 10 days before stepping foot onto the first tee at the daunting Shinnecock Hills. His second professional start came under some of the harshest conditions in recent memory and against the world’s toughest competition.

Anyways, he finished T23, one better than Rory McIlroy. But yeah, Ben… you “played nice last week”.

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This week, at the Travelers Championship, Ben gets to play a home game. The recent University of Virginia grew up in Milford, Connecticut, just about an hour drive from the gates of TPC River Highlands.

When asked if he had gotten the chance to see Tiger Woods, who made his first public appearance since his car crash in March, Ben had a fairly simple response.

“I was sleeping in my bed in Milford. I wasn’t here.”

You know what, Ben? You’ve had a long couple of weeks. I don’t blame you.

The local kid will tee it up this weekend, hoping to add another good finish onto an already eye-catching list.