PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. — Spencer Levin planned on sleeping on a college buddy’s couch for one night ahead of the Monday qualifier for the Korn Ferry Tour’s Veritex Bank Championship in April, and if he didn’t make it, he’d fly home. He ended up sleeping on the couch all week, not only qualifying by sinking a decisive birdie putt on the final hole but winning the tournament six days later for his first victory in a PGA Tour-sanctioned event after 17 years and 10 months of trying.
It might be the most under-appreciated victory of 2023 – his first since 2008 on the Canadian Tour, not long after Tiger Woods won the U.S. Open at Torrey Pines on one leg and back when Katy Perry’s “I Kissed a Girl” was the No. 1 song on the charts and Swede sensation Ludvig Aberg was all of eight years old.
Levin, 39, began the final round in Dallas trailing leader Brett Drewitt by six shots. He caught the Aussie on the 71st hole, then birdied the last for a 63 at Texas Rangers Golf Club – and a four-round total of 20-under par.
“I didn’t think I was going to win the tournament until I did,” Levin said.
Spencer Levin had a decorated amateur career and finally won a PGA Tour-sanctioned event on the Korn Ferry Tour in 2023 after nearly 18 years of trying.
What a long, strange trip it had been to the winner’s circle. Levin already was the definition of cocky growing up in Sacramento and his confidence grew during the summer of 2004, when he finished second in the Pacific Coast Amateur (losing in a playoff); tied for 13th place at the U.S. Open (the best finish by an amateur in 33 years) at Shinnecock Hills; reached the third round of the U.S. Amateur at Winged Foot; and won the California Amateur, Scratch Players Amateur, and Porter Cup. Greatness was predicted for him.
While his pro career never reached those lofty heights, he’s earned close to $10 million over 17 seasons and climbed to 60th in the Official World Golf Ranking in early 2012. He came close to winning a handful of times, most notably losing a playoff against Johnson Wagner at the 2011 Mayakoba Golf Classic. Levin averaged 28 starts a year, making 139 cuts, but when he lost his card after the 2016-17 season, he took the demotion hard. He made only five cuts in 22 starts and lost his exempt status. His playing opportunities were few and far between over the ensuing four seasons, dwindling to zero Korn Ferry starts in 2021 and ’22.
By his own count, Levin fell one shot short in at…
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