Before reaching the quarterfinals of the U.S. Amateur, it had been a rough summer for Ben James.
The Phil Mickelson Award winner for best freshman in college golf had hit a bad spell. He didn't record a top-10 finish in any amateur events after helping Team USA win the Palmer Cup in Pennsylvania this June.
Considering James (Milford, Conn.) recorded five wins over the course of his first year in Charlottesville for the Cavaliers, it certainly rang a few alarms and made James do some soul-searching in order to reconnect with the game.
"My goal, again, was just to have fun. I had a lot of trouble this summer with not driving it well and the driver being my strength and not having fun on the golf course," James said after his Round of 16 win in the U.S. Amateur. "I talked to a couple of people, got some advice from Stew Hagestad, who's an unbelievable player, and just kind of took some time to relax."