Ben James Selected for 2024 U.S. Palmer Cup Team
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The Arnold Palmer Cup announced today (April 23) that Virginia sophomore Ben James (Milford, Conn.) has earned a spot on the 2024 United States Palmer Cup team. It marks the second consecutive year he has been chosen for the Palmer Cup competition.
The event is a Ryder Cup-style tournament featuring the top men’s and women’s university/college golfers matching the United States against a team of international players.
The Arnold Palmer Cup was co-founded by Arnold Palmer and the Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA) and began at the Bay Hill Club & Lodge, Orlando, Fla., in 1997.
This year’s matches will be held at Lahinch Golf Club located on the west coast of Ireland from July 5-7. Lahinch Golf Club, founded in 1892, was originally slated to host the Palmer Cup in 2020 but the event was canceled due to the pandemic.
James is the first Cavalier to be a multi-time Palmer Cup participant. Jimmy Stanger was named to the 2017 United States team and Derek Bard became the first Cavalier to play in the event in 2016.
Last year James and UVA women’s golfer Amanda Sambach helped the U.S. Team to a 32-28 victory at Laurel Valley Golf Club in Ligonier, Pa. Sambach has also been named to the U.S. Team’s roster for this year’s competition.
James is currently ranked No. 29 in the NCAA golf standings and leads UVA with a 70.07 stroke average. He is one of 10 semifinalists for the 2024 Ben Hogan Award. He has five top-10 outings in nine tournaments this season. During the past year, James helped the USGA’s 10-man team win the Walker Cup at the Old Course in St. Andrews, Scotland in addition to the Palmer Cup victory. Last summer he advanced to the quarterfinals of the 2023 U.S. Amateur.
James is coming off an accolade-filled freshman year at Virginia, where he was named winner of the 2023 Phil Mickelson Outstanding Freshman Award, a First-Team Ping All-American, ACC Freshman of the Year and a finalist for both the Haskins and Jack Nicklaus Awards. He finished sixth at the NCAA Championships, set the UVA record with five first-place finishes and finished in the top six in 11 of 13 tournaments.
The Palmer Cup has been played at some of the world’s greatest courses, including The Old Course at St. Andrews, The Royal County Down, Royal Portrush, Baltusrol, The Honors Course, and Cherry Hills. Beginning with the 2018 matches at Evian Resort Golf Club, the Palmer Cup is the only major tournament which features men and women playing side-by-side as partners.
Since its inception, over 125 former Arnold Palmer Cup alumni have gone on to earn cards on the PGA, DP World, or LPGA Tours; 34 have represented Europe or the USA in the Ryder Cup, Presidents Cup, or Solheim Cup and more than 75 have claimed over 315 victories on the PGA, DP World, or LPGA Tours, including 2022 major champions Jennifer Kupcho (The Chevron Championship) and Justin Thomas (PGA Championship). The United States leads the Palmer Cup series 13-12-1.
The Arnold & Winnie Palmer Foundation supports the Palmer Cup, which provides a platform for perpetuating Arnold Palmer’s commitment to youth character development and the growth of amateur/collegiate golf. For more information, please visit ArnoldPalmerCup.com.