‘It just sucks’: 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 part of the professional golf tour for more than 20 years, endearing hordes of fans along the way.

On Sunday, Levin experienced another cruel twist of fate in a career littered with such events, when he fell just short of regaining his PGA Tour card for the first time in nearly a decade at Q-School.

After his heartbreaking near miss on Sunday, Levin did not race home nervously. Instead, he faced the cameras and gave an emotional interview to the Korn Ferry Tour media team, which brought out the raw emotion of the moment.

Spencer Levin almost claims the PGA Tour card at Q-School

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

Levin made his first Korn Ferry Tour start way back in 2003 and debuted the following year in his first PGA Tour-sanctioned event at the 2004 US Open. He eventually earned his PGA Tour card, creation of 244 will begin in the next 20 years.

Although Levin has two third-place finishes and one second-place finish, he has never won a PGA Tour event. During his time on the Tour he was better known for his on-course antics and humor.

On a 2023 episode of GOLF’s Subpar, co-host Colt Knost said this about playing with Levin on Tour.

“He was one of my favorites to mate with,” Knost said. “Not just because he was going to lose his s, but he just knew how to play golf. It wasn’t the prettiest thing, it wasn’t the prettiest golf swing, he didn’t make it nine miles, but he put a score on a scorecard that was better than a lot of people’s.”

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

Levin ultimately lost his PGA Tour card after the 2016-17 season and has made only sporadic starts since. His last PGA Tour appearance was at the 2023 Farmers Insurance Open, which he qualified for on Monday and missed the cut.

That year he played the final stages of Q-School, but finished T10 and narrowly missed out on his 2024 Tour card.

In 2025, Levin competed in 22 Korn Ferry Tour events. He missed 15 cuts and finished 98th in the KFT rankings, which only earned him conditional KFT status for 2026.

So it was back to Q-School for one last attempt to improve his prospects for next season. At the Second Stage Q-School event in Dothan, Ala., Levin rallied on the final lap to finish T6 and advance to the final stage in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida.

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

“I’ve been doing this for a long time,” Levin said Saturday. “I’ve seen every scenario there is. What you learn is there are no secrets. You just have 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 to finish 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 badly’

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

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

At the beginning, the interviewer asked Levin what was “going through his mind” after his near miss.

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

Just when it seemed like the interview would end as quickly as it began, the interviewer reminded Levin of his successful rally in the second phase of Q-School, which brought a smile from the visibly devastated prof.

“Yeah, thanks for bringing that up,” Levin noted. “That was definitely positive. Yes, I did that. Thank you for saying that. I did that.”

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 well last night, usually I don’t sleep well for days like this, and I did,” Levin explained. “I just had to make a couple putts that I didn’t make. And I told my caddy that I knew if we birdied the last three holes, we’d have a chance. And I mean I hit all three holes right there to do it, and I didn’t make the putts. But it’s kind of a shame because I played really well from tee to green all week, I only hit a couple bad shots.”

But Levin also couldn’t ease his disappointment, explaining that his strong desire to return to the PGA Tour makes his near miss even more difficult.

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

It’s not all bad news, however. Levin’s strong play in Q-School earned him full status on the Korn Ferry Tour next year. So he gets another chance to parlay that into a PGA Tour card. It also wouldn’t be a surprise if his inspiring play this week earned him a pair of sponsor exemptions for PGA Tour events next season. If so, there will be plenty of fans eager to see him play.

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

“I have at least another year of golf next year, so I’m looking forward to that,” he said.

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