Virginia senior Ben James earns PGA Tour card

The NCAA Championship has been rocking and rolling, and soon enough match play will yield a champion above them all.

While crowning a winner is important there are other matters to tend to. Virginia’s Ben James finished his senior seasons where he began in one very important category and that was number 1 in the PGA TOUR University Class of 2026. This earned him his PGA Tour card through the 2027 season.

It is impressive that James was able to hold onto his spot across the entire collegiate season. It is always interesting to see how college players fare in circumstances like that, and going wire to wire will be something that James can draw on at the next level.

James’ Virginia team finished shy of the match play format at the championship so their overall season did not end the way that they wanted, but there is likely some solace in knowing one of their own pulled off something so special.