Debut: RS I, 2004, Slaley Hall
Caps: 22
Best Finish: Winner 2011
James is the Organising Committee Chairman ("OCC") and always one to utterly confound the handicappers and the bookies alike. Generally handicapped out of the tournament because (despite years of evidence to the contrary) everyone assumes that if you organise a weekend of golf then you're probably really good, James had not made much impression on the championship itself until everything finally came together (in the sense that every dog has his day) in 2011.
Controversially he has now won the money challenge THREE TIMES, the second time via an all time Rim Stinger high score of 44 points. He appears to specialise in this area. Some say this makes him the most successful Rim Stinger ever and his handicap should be for evermore in single figures, possibly negative. Others (him) say that his game is based on massive inconsistency and he is just as likely to get 10 points as 30 points. As a case in point, his defence of the 2011 title involved him coming last in 2012, followed by a money win in 2013, a rollercoaster ride. If 2011 was a personal epiphany, the lows are too many to mention in detail. Heckled by a duck in 2007 was tough to take, as was losing 18 balls in one round in 2008, another Rim Stinger record.
Hero to zero. The OCC's "defence" of RS VIII resulted in BoS IX