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.
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.
Co-leader, Ben Kohles, accidentally moves ball, resulting in a one-stroke penalty at PGA TOUR Q-School presented by Korn Ferry.
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) December 14, 2025
He moves from T1 to T9 after a double bogey.
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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.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Penalty Sends Co-Leader Spiraling at PGA Tour Q-School.
