Popular pro gets emotional after PGA Tour comeback falls short

Few golfers know the treacherous, often devastating road to the PGA Tour better than Spencer Levin. The 41-year-old golf cult hero has been grinding in golf’s pro tours for over 20 years, endearing hordes of fans along the way.

On Sunday, Levin experienced yet another cruel twist of fate in a career full of them, when he came up just short of reclaiming his PGA Tour card for the first time in nearly a decade at Q-School.

Following his heartbreaking near-miss on Sunday, Levin didn’t race home in a tizzy. Instead, he faced the cameras and gave an emotional interview to the Korn Ferry Tour media team, where the raw emotion of the moment spilled out.

Spencer Levin nearly reclaims PGA Tour card at Q-School

On the eve of the final round at last week’s Final Stage of PGA Tour Q-School, Levin was on the verge of an improbable comeback.

Levin made his first Korn Ferry Tour start way back in 2003, debuting in his first PGA Tour-sanctioned event the next year at the 2004 U.S. Open. He eventually earned his PGA Tour card, making 244 starts over the next 20 years.

Though Levin has earned two third-place finishes and one runner-up, he’s never won a PGA Tour event. During his time on Tour, he was better known for his on-course antics and humor.

On an episode of GOLF’s Subpar in 2023, co-host Colt Knost had this to say about playing with Levin on Tour.

“He was one of my favorites to get paired with,” Knost said. “Not only cause he would lose his s—, but he just knew how to play golf. Wasn’t the prettiest thing, wasn’t the most beautiful golf swing, didn’t hit it nine miles, but he put a score on a scorecard that was better than a lot of people.”

You can read more anecdotes about Levin’s legend from PGA Tour pros here.

Levin eventually lost his PGA Tour card after the 2016-2017 season, and he’s only made sporadic starts since then. His last PGA Tour appearance came at the 2023 Farmers Insurance Open, which he Monday qualified for and missed the cut.

That year he played the Final Stage of Q-School but finished T10 to narrowly miss reclaiming his Tour card for 2024.

In 2025, Levin teed it up in 22 Korn Ferry Tour events. He missed 15 cuts and finished 98th in the KFT standings, which only gave him conditional KFT status for 2026.

So it was back to Q-School for one final attempt at improving his outlook for next season. At the Second Stage Q-School event in Dothan, Ala., Levin rallied in the final round to finish T6 and advance to the Final Stage in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.

Levin started this week’s event steadily with back-to-back 69s, then rocketed up the leaderboard with a 63 in Round 3. With the top-5 finishers earning PGA Tour cards, Levin entered Sunday’s finale T6 and two shots off the lead. He was suddenly, tantalizingly close to earning a PGA Tour card for 2026

“I’ve been doing this a long time,” Levin said on Saturday. “I’ve kind of seen every scenario there is. The thing you learn is that there are no secrets. You’ve just got to go out tomorrow and execute and play well. And that’s it.”

But with a return to the PGA Tour within reach, Levin struggled to a one-over 71 in the final round, finishing T13, three shots short of a playoff for the fifth and final PGA Tour card.

Levin on missing PGA Tour card: ‘Something you want so bad’

With all that he’d gone through, not just in Sunday’s final round but throughout his career, it would have been understandable if Levin had quickly left the course without speaking to anyone Sunday evening.

But instead he chose to do a post-round interview, and he may have earned even more fans in the process.

At the start, the interviewer asked Levin what was “going through his head” following his near miss.

“I was hoping today was going to be the day, but it wasn’t so…” Levin answered, his voice trailing off has he fought back tears. “That’s it, I don’t have much else to say.”

Just when it seemed the interview would end as quickly as it started, the interviewer reminded Levin of his successful rally at the Second Stage of Q-School, which earned a smile from the visibly devastated pro.

“Yea, thanks for bringing that up,” Levin remarked. “That was positive for sure. Yea. I did. Thanks for saying that. I did.”

Then Levin opened up and revealed more details about his experience in the final round.

“Today you wake up thinking this could be the day. I felt good, everything felt good. I slept good last night, usually I don’t sleep good before days like this, and I did,” Levin explained. “I just, there were some putts I needed to make that I didn’t make. And I told my caddie I knew if we birdied the last three holes we’d have a chance. And I mean I hit it right in there all three holes to do it, and I didn’t make the putts. But it’s kind of unfortunate because I played really well tee-to-green all week, I only hit a couple bad shots.”

But Levin also didn’t sugar-coat his disappointment, explaining that his strong desire to make it back to the PGA Tour makes his near-miss that much harder.

“It just sucks because it’s something you want so bad,” Levin admitted.

It’s not all bad news, though. Levin’s strong play in Q-School did grant him full status on the Korn Ferry Tour next year. So he’ll have another chance to parlay that into a PGA Tour card. It also wouldn’t be surprising if his inspiring play this week earned him a few sponsor’s exemptions into PGA Tour events next season. If it does, there will be plenty of fans eager to watch him play.

And despite his devastation, that’s what Levin was trying to focus on Sunday night.

“At least I’ve got another year of golf to play next year, so I’m looking forward to that,” he said.