CALEDON, Ontario (AP) — Ben James holed a 25-foot eagle putt to start his round and never let up until he had a 7-under 63 for a one-shot lead in his professional debut at the RBC Canadian Open.
James was an All-American all four years at Virginia and led the PGA Tour University ranking to earn a card through the 2027 season.
“It all kind of came together today. It was just one of those days,” James said. “The putter was good, hitting fairways, had good numbers, and was able to capitalize on a pretty tricky scoring day.”
James was at 10-under 130, one shot over a group of five players that included Sam Burns, who played in the final group at the Memorial last week and tied for fourth.
Brooks Koepka had a 68 and was two shots behind, along with Tommy Fleetwood.
James played bogey-free on the Osprey Valley course at TPC Toronto and goes into the weekend having not made a bogey in his last 33 holes. This is his 10th PGA Tour event, including two U.S. Opens, but first one as a pro.
“I wasn’t really thinking about results at all this week. Just worried about getting comfortable, making new friends and having fun, and just seeing where everything kind of falls,” James said. “Obviously, I have some stuff to work on, just trying to see where everything goes. Because this is just the baseline, it’s my first professional debut. Had a great two days, but just trying to get better.”
Burns had a 67 and was at 131 along with Jackson Suber (65), Haotong Li (64), Keith Mitchell (64) and Jesper Svensson (65).
Tommy Fleetwood, who lost in a playoff at the Canadian Open three years ago when Nick Taylor holed that memorable 72-foot eagle putt, had a 65 and joined Koepka in the group two back that included defending champion Ryan Fox (66).
Koepka was slowed at the start of his round when he lost his tee shot on the 13th and had to scramble for double bogey, and then bogeyed the par-3 14th. He also had four birdies and an eagle on the back nine — he started on No. 10 — the latter coming off a 379-yard drive on the par-5 18th.
He was thinking more of the drive that went sideways.
“I would like to have that tee ball back on 13,” Koepka said. “I just stood there for 10 minutes and tried to hit a low fade and then it turned into a high draw. When you stand there and start thinking too long, that was kind of the issue. I would love to have that one back. But other than that, played solid, it was fine. The ball striking hasn’t been phenomenal, but it’s good.”
Eric Cole, who was part of the six-way tie for the lead after 18 holes, started with a triple bogey and his day never got much better. He shot 76 to miss the cut, meaning he will have no chance to play in the U.S. Open next week. Cole came into the week at No. 63 in the world, and the top 60 earn an exemption to Shinnecock Hills.
James made it through 36-hole qualifying in New York to earn a spot in his third straight U.S. Open. His focus now is on the fifth-oldest championship in golf — the Canadian Open dates to 1904 — and his professional debut.
“I’ve never been in this position, so I’m very excited to find out,” James said about the weekend. “One thing I wanted to do I was, like, ‘Let’s try and get in that last group.’ I just want to feel what that feels and just see what happens out there in that situation. Being so young, I’m just excited. I have no expectations. I’m going to play the best I can like I did the last two days.”