The final round of Q School provided plenty of happy endings from medalist AJ Ewart to Dylan Wu’s clutch playoff birdie to journeyman Marcelo Rozo. But as always, there was plenty of heartbreak as well for those not earning PGA Tour cards.
Unfortunately for Ben Kohles, he fell into the latter category. In especially painful fashion.
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The 54-hole co-leader was cruising on the final day at TPC Sawgrass’ Valley Course and still tied for the lead when an errant drive on No. 8 put him in a tough spot. But things quickly got much, much worse.
While trying to move debris around his golf ball, Kohles accidentally moved his golf ball. After conferring with a rules official, he was assessed a one-shot penalty, and he wound up making a double bogey on the hole, dropping from T-1 to T-9 in an event where the top five earned PGA Tour cards. Have a look:
Co-leader, Ben Kohles, accidentally moves ball, resulting in a one-stroke penalty at PGA TOUR Q-School presented by Korn Ferry.
He moves from T1 to T9 after a double bogey.
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— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) December 14, 2025
That’s rough. But things got even rougher for Kohles on the next hole. The four-time Korn Ferry Tour winner who finished 145th in the PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup standings this year found the water with his next tee shot and made another double bogey. And just like that, his hopes of earning back his PGA Tour card were gone.
Kohles wound up shooting 75 to finish T-29. On the bright side, he still earned full Korn Ferry Tour status for 2026.
