James Shares Medalist Honors at Chitengwa Memorial
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Virginia freshman Ben James claimed co-medalist honors and helped the No. 21 Virginia men’s golf team to a runner-up finish at the Cavaliers’ second-annual Lewis Chitengwa Memorial tournament at Birdwood Golf Course. It marked the fourth time this season James has recorded a first-place finish in 10 outings. He now has eight top-four finishes in his first season at UVA.
James shot 11-under 202 and shared medalist honors with Florida State’s Cole Anderson. James posted a final-round score of 6-under 65 and had a chance to win the tournament outright but his four-foot putt on the 18th green lipped out of the cup. It was his only bogey on the day.
Anderson, who is ranked No. 12 nationally, recorded a final-round score of 4-under 67 to lead the seventh-ranked Seminoles to the victory at 41-under 811. UVA shot 27-under 825 including a final-round score of 9-under 275. No. 40 Arkansas was third at 24-under 828.
The tournament marked the fifth time this season the Cavaliers have produced a top-three tournament finish.
“If you had told me at the start of the week 28 under, I thought that would have won,” said UVA head coach Bowen Sargent. “Somehow it didn’t get the job done. 41-under by Florida State was incredible. It shows why they are ranked among the best teams in the country. We’re looking forward to maybe seeing them again at the ACCs.
“The headliner was Ben’s fourth win of the season. He played an unbelievable three rounds to finish at 11-under par. The rest of the team was also solid. Ben had an awesome week and we are very proud of his accomplishments.”
James entered the event ranked No. 16 in the latest Golfstat individual poll. That figures second in the nation among all freshman, trailing only Texas first-year player Christiaan Maas, who is ranked No. 6.
“It feels great,” James said after his round. “This is the one I really wanted. I had a lot of friends and family come out and it really means a lot to get a win here at Birdwood. Coach Sargent and coach (Dustin) Groves helped me out a ton during the week and I can’t thank them enough. It was very special to win on your home golf course. It’s a dream.”
Joining James in the top-10 of the leaderboard was teammate Pietro Bovari, who finished sixth at 7-under 206. He shot 1-under 70 on Tuesday. It was his fourth top-10 finish of the season.
UVA’s George Duangmanee and Chris Fosdick tied for 22nd place at 1-under 212. Duangmanee carded a final-round score of 1-under 70 while Fosdick shot 75. Graduate student Jack Montague rounded out UVA’s scoring with a total of 2-over 215. He also shot 70 during the final round.
Virginia fielded a B-squad for the event and that group was topped by Deven Patel’s 11th-place showing. He shot 6-under 207 and posted a final round score of 69. Jaron Leasure tied Fosdick and Duangmanee for 22nd place at 212, Grayson Wotnosky was 42nd at 216, Benny Haggin was 52nd at 220 and Matthew Monastero was 75th at 235.
The B-team’s score of 3-over 855 placed them eighth in the 15-team field.
The tournament was UVA’s final regular season event. Virginia will compete at the ACC Championships on April 21-24 in Pinehurst, N.C.
The tournament’s namesake, Lewis Chitengwa, was a two-time All-American at Virginia (1995, 1996) and earned All-ACC honors in 1995 when he was named the league’s rookie of the year. He finished seventh at the 1996 NCAA Championships, at the time the best finish by a UVA performer in 50 years. During his four-year career he won two tournaments and recorded 17 top-10 finishes.
Chitengwa turned professional in 1998 and played on the Tear Drop, Buy.com and Canadian Tours in addition to competing at the PGA’s St. Jude Memphis Classic. At the age of 26, he passed away as a result of meningitis. At the time, he was competing in the Canadian Tour’s Edmonton Open. In 2015, he was recognized posthumously for his immense contribution to golf by being inducted into Mercedes-Benz Southern African Golf Hall of Fame.
Last year UVA won the tournament by one stroke over runner-up Tennessee. The Cavaliers shot 15-under 837.
Lewis Chitengwa Memorial
Birdwood Golf Course
Charlottesville, Va.
Par 71, 7,116 yards
Final Results
Team Results
- Florida State 264-274-273-811
- Virginia 272-278-275-825
- Arkansas 270-285-273-828
- Auburn 280-274-284-838
- Northwestern 278-283-277-838
- Jacksonville 278-282-285-845
- Kentucky 287-278-286-851
- Virginia-B 279-288-288-855
- Virginia Tech 278-290-289-857
- St. Mary’s (CA) 282-295-286-863
- 11. Loyola (MD) 288-287-289-864
- UNCW 289-288-299-876
- Texas State 288-299-290-877
- Kennesaw State 296-294-290-880
- East Carolina 295-295-291-881
Individual Leaders
- Ben James, Virginia 66-71-65-202
- Cole Anderson, Florida State 68-67-67-202
- David Nyfjall, Northwestern 66-68-70-204
- Luke Clanton, Florida State 66-68-70-204
Virginia Results
- Ben James 66-71-65-202
- Pietro Bovari 64-72-70-206
- George Duangmanee 73-74-70-212
- Chris Fosdick 71-66-75-212
- Jack Montague 71-66-70-215
Virginia B-Team Results
- 11. Deven Patel 70-68-69-207
- Jaron Leasure 68-71-73-212
- Grayson Wotnosky 70-74-72-216
- Benny Haggin 71-75-74-220
- Matthew Monastero 72-82-81-235