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Penalty Sends Co-Leader Spiraling at PGA Tour Q-School

In the final round of PGA Tour Q-School, with a 2026 card on the line, Ben Kohles was part of a five-way tie for the lead. Then, a series of misfortunes happened. 

Max Schreiber

Two consecutive double bogeys dropped Ben Kohles over 20 spots down the Q-School leaderboard.
Two consecutive double bogeys dropped Ben Kohles over 20 spots down the Q-School leaderboard. / Erik Williams-Imagn Images

It was a tumble down the leaderboard for Ben Kohles. 

In the final round of PGA Tour Q-School at TPC Sawgrass, with a Tour card for 2026 on the line, the 35-year-old American was part of a five-way tie for the lead. Then, a series of misfortunes happened. 

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He sliced his drive on the par-4 8th at Dye’s Valley Course, and as he tried to remove debris surrounding his ball, he accidentally moved it, resulting in a one-stroke penalty. 

That led to a double bogey, dropping him to T9. After that? Another double, splashing his tee shot. 

In two holes, Kohles went from T1 to T22, with the top-5 finishers (no ties) earning status for next season. 

In 2025, Kohles finished 145th in the FedEx Cup standings. And perhaps a consolation is that the next 40 Q-School finishers and ties after the top 5 will claim full Korn Ferry Tour status for 2026.

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Max Schreiber
MAX SCHREIBER

Max Schreiber is a contributor to the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated, covering golf. Before joining SI in October 2024, the Mahwah, N.J., native, worked as an associate editor for the Golf Channel and wrote for RyderCup.com and FanSided. He is a multiplatform producer for Newsday and has a bachelor's in communications and journalism from Quinnipiac University. In his free time, you can find him doing anything regarding the Yankees, Giants, Knicks and Islanders.

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