On a tee box June 13, surrounded by the U.S. Open’s typical swaying banners and milling masses, the twinkling past of Virginia men’s golf united with its gleaming present.
Class of 2015 alumnus Denny McCarthy, the world’s 32nd-ranked golfer, stood on that tee box. So did Class of 2012 alumnus Ben Kohles, the world’s 89th-ranked golfer. Ben James, currently a rising junior, completed the group. The appearance of these current and former Cavaliers, on one of professional golf’s grandest stages, symbolized the simultaneous success of Virginia’s college golf program.
The program has never been as visible, as conspicuous, as it is now. The recent spring college season triggered a torrent of historic bests — the program’s best finish at NCAA Regionals, its best stroke-play finish at NCAA Championships, its first time ever with four All-Americans, its first time with a repeat first-team All-American and its first time with an individual finishing as runner-up at the NCAA Championships.
The program’s presence at Pinehurst — and on the wider PGA Tour — reflects that success. The program is climbing the college ranks, while its products are climbing the professional ranks.
The three Virginia alumni belonging to the PGA Tour — McCarthy, Kohles and Class of 2017 alumnus Jimmy Stanger — represent a record number of former Cavaliers on Tour at the same time, according to Coach Bowen Sargent. Virginia was also among the 12 schools to land at least three past or present players in this year’s U.S. Open field.
James, the runner-up at the NCAA Individual Championships last month, qualified through the tournament’s open qualifying structure, in which anyone whose handicap is under a certain threshold can attempt to enter the tournament. Then, either purposely or by chance, he found himself grouped with McCarthy and Kohles.
“I thought it was neat that the USGA did that,” Stanger said in a phone interview. “I can’t imagine that was coincidental. But I’m sure it’s a blast for them. Part of me is like, ‘Man, I wish I was there playing with them. That’d be an epic foursome.’”
Maybe one day — for now, Stanger is recovering from an elbow injury. Meanwhile, though, everyone associated with the Virginia golf program can be content with knowing that this is a budding golden era.
The program could gain even more luster with another milestone — the program’s first win on the PGA Tour. All three Tour members have come excruciatingly close this season. Kohles bogeyed his final hole at the CJ Cup Byron Nelson tournament to lose by a stroke, McCarthy lost in a playoff at the Valero Texas Open after an almost legendary back nine and Stanger missed out on a playoff at the Puerto Rico Open by one stroke.
“It’s been hard,” Sargent said over the phone. “I want it so bad for them. It’s been hard to watch.”
He watched this week, though, traveling down to Pinehurst — the self-proclaimed cradle of golf — to watch the tournament. He followed one threesome in particular and likely ended up fairly delighted with what he saw. McCarthy tied for 32nd place, recovering from a birdie-less opening round of five-over 75 to make the weekend. Kohles tied for 56th, making the cut on the number, while James unfortunately missed the cut by a solitary stroke.
Things could have gone better. But the very fact of having three golfers in a major — in the same group, no less — is a selling point, especially from a recruiting point of view. Sargent mentioned last week that he would be hosting a transfer the weekend of the tournament and would surely mention the program’s success on Tour.
“I will certainly be talking about those three guys at the U.S. Open,” Sargent said. “So that never hurts.”
It also doesn’t hurt to have a brand-new practice center, an elite training facility among the nation’s best. According to Sargent, the facility helped him land James and fellow rising junior Bryan Lee as part of the nation’s fourth-ranked recruiting class. It is quite the enticement, outfitted with a sprawling short-game area and a performance center that is better described as a mansion for golfers.
“I’ve seen the new facilities,” Stanger said, laughing. “I’m envious. We did not have that.”
The facility is just part of the movement. The college success, the professional success and the recruiting victories coalesce into a killer combination for the program. Recognition rises with results, and every new accomplishment lays the groundwork for more.
“Donors and alumni like to see that,” Sargent said. “So that gets them more excited, and so they donate, and then recruits like to see buildings and golf courses and practice areas. So, yeah, it’s certainly a virtuous cycle.”
It wasn’t always like this. Virginia is not, historically, a golfing blue blood, or anywhere near it. The program enjoyed ephemeral bursts of success for decades, but nothing sustained. Not until a few years after Sargent’s 2004 arrival did the consistency form and the bar start ticking higher. The program’s middling standing was reflected in its lack of Tour pros.
“I remember being back in school thinking ‘Why aren’t there many guys out on the Tour?’” Stanger said.
But in 2017, Stanger’s senior year, the program reached the national No. 1 ranking for the first time in history. The new facility was dedicated the following year, and McCarthy earned his Tour card that same year. Then Golfweek ranked Virginia No. 1 in its first poll of the 2022 season. Then came this season and all its accompanying records, and so the cycle of success and recognition was underway.
As a result, the alumni cohort on Tour is growing and strengthening, and it might soon swell again. Class of 2018 alumni Danny Walker and Thomas Walsh have toiled away on the Korn Ferry Tour for the last half-dozen years, attempting to earn PGA Tour membership. Then there is James, who will graduate from college in a couple years and who may, according to Sargent, already be Tour-ready.
Stanger has only been on Tour with McCarthy and Kohles for one season, but he referenced an automatic collegiality that he hopes will only develop further.
“It’s fun to see guys — like Ben James, like Ben Kohles and Denny McCarthy — that we’ve all gone through the same path to get to the stage,” Stanger said. “Even if we’re on different parts of that path today.”
For a few of them, those paths converged at Pinehurst. The U.S. Open, at the confluence of a rising college program and its swelling professional ranks, proved emblematic of the program’s continuing ascension.
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