Ben James joins SoFi Cup champion Los Angeles Golf Club for TGL 2027

Los Angeles Golf Club introduced Ben James as its fifth TGL player on October 20, filling the new roster spot on the defending SoFi Cup champions. James, 23, of Milford, Connecticut, turned professional in June after finishing No. 1 in the 2026 PGA Tour University Ranking.

LAGC said James made nine cuts in 10 PGA Tour starts as a pro, with four top-10 finishes and a top-25 at the U.S. Open. The club also said he reached the world top 85 inside those 10 events. At Virginia he became the fifth four-time first-team All-American in NCAA Division I men's golf history, after Gary Hallberg, Phil Mickelson, David Duval and Bryce Molder.

How he fits the champions

Los Angeles brings back Collin Morikawa, Justin Rose, Tommy Fleetwood and Sahith Theegala from the team that swept Jupiter Links Golf Club in the 2026 finals, closing that series with a 9-2 win. TGL's official roster release listed James as the added fifth player on that same core. LAGC led TGL in Triples holes won (27) and Triples points won (31) across the 2026 regular season and playoffs.

LAGC framed the hire as a youth add on a roster of established winners. The team site said James and Motor City Golf Club's Jackson Koivun are the only two 2026 PGA Tour rookies on TGL rosters for 2027. That matches TGL's league-wide count of 12 first-time TGL players across the seven clubs.

The league expanded every roster from four players to five for the coming season while keeping match nights at three against three. James therefore joins a depth chart that can sit two players each week, which is new for a club that rode the same four names through a title run.

What to watch next

TGL opens Sunday, December 27, at SoFi Center in Palm Beach Gardens. The full match schedule is still unreleased, so the first public marker for James is which three LAGC names the champions post for opening night. For sim golfers, treat him as a ScreenZone variable on a ball-striking club: LAGC already led off-the-tee, approach and ball-striking ScreenZone categories last season, and James is the unknown inside that group.