Ben James wins Valero Texas Collegiate in a playoff over Josiah Gilbert
Ben James (Virginia Athletics Photo)
After making a start at the Procore Championship earlier in the month,
Ben James of Virginia is heading back to the PGA Tour.
James defeated Josiah Gilbert of Auburn in a playoff to win the Valero Texas Collegiate at TPC San Antonio, the Oaks Course, in San Antonio, Tex.
The standout junior at Virginia blitzed the field at the end of the event, going 7-under in his last 13 holes to get to 12-under, including recording birdies on holes No. 17 and 18.
James, who was down by as much as five shots in the final round, carded rounds of 69-69-66. He is currently ranked No. 2 in the Golfweek/AmateurGolf.com World Rankings.
Josiah Gilbert of Auburn also finished at 12-under after recording birdies on holes No. 15, 16, and 17 to get back to the top of the leaderboard.
In the playoff, James made a birdie on the par-5 No. 18, and Gilbert made a par to give the win to James. With the individual victory, James earned an automatic exemption into the PGA Tour’s 2025 Valero Open from April 3 to April 6.
Gilbert recorded rounds of 66-67-71 to get to 12-under and force the playoff.
Jase Summy of Oklahoma finished in solo third place at 11-under. Summy shot a first-round 10-under 62, but a second-round 2-over 74 saw him fall out of the lead.
Cohen Trolio of Ole Miss finished in solo fourth place at 10-under, and Evan Woosley-Reed of Tennessee, Lance Simpson of Tennessee, and Grayson Wood of Georgia all finished T5 at 6-under to round out the top five.
In the team competition, Oklahoma finished 30-under to win over Ole Miss, who finished in solo second place at 24-under.
The Sooners carded rounds of 268-286-280 to secure the win.
Auburn and Virginia finished T3 at 19-under, and Vanderbilt finished in solo fifth place at 14-under.
ABOUT THE
Introduced in 2023, this is a 54-hole men's college
tournament hosted by the University of Texas at San
Antonio. Team (best four scores out of five players each
round) and individual competitions.
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