Spencer

Levin

Levin did things the hard way today when he settled for pars on three of the four par 5s. He still managed to find nine circles before his day was done and didn’t drop a single shot along the way. As a result, he’ll now have a tee time in a PGA TOUR event for the first time since the 2018 Barbasol Championship. Levin has been spending his time on the Korn Ferry circuit where he is 2-for-5 in 2020 with a T17 at the Lincoln Land Championship as his highlight. Others to play their way through the Monday Q were Matt Wilson (63), Michael Gligic (63), and George Markham (64). Markham needed to survive a 4-for-1 playoff to punch his ticket.

Levin teed off on the par-4 11th hole before walking off. He was birdie-free 5-over-par on the round with one bogey and two doubles. He was coming off an 81-75=MC missed cut at Bay Hill, so considered us concerned. If an explanation is released, we will relay it to you. He did not qualify for next week’s Masters.

We still don’t know why he withdrew mid-round in his opener in Houston last week. If he’s healthy -- and that’s a big if -- he’d be an automatic play at Harbour Town where he’s posted top 15s in each of his three starts.

In what was his fifth consecutive week on the road, Levin shared 15th place at THE PLAYERS. He hadn’t played the Nelson since 2010.

Talk about a shocker. He hit six (of 14) fairways and only eight greens, yet required 34 putts. Levin offset a lone birdie at the par-4 10th hole with eight bogeys and a double. Unless he goes low in his second round on Friday afternoon, his consecutive cuts made streak will come to an end at 14. Last year’s 36-hole cut at the API fell at 4-over 148.

We’re still clueless as to why Levin withdrew during his opening round in Houston two weeks ago. Whatever the issue, he played much better today than in either of his previous two outings. He hit nine greens and needed 29 putts but limited the damage to four bogeys before picking off a pair of birdies on his final four holes. His most notable conversion was an 18-footer that dropped for par at the third hole.

Although Levin melted on Sunday at TPC Scottsdale two weeks ago, he recovered well with a T9 at Pebble Beach last week. He’s also getting up and down with precision at Riviera. He’s missed 19 greens in regulation but has incurred just six bogeys. Moreover, he buried seven birdies in today’s loop, including a pair from off the green at the 17th and second holes.

The northern California native has posted a pair of top 25s at this event in the southern part of the state the last two years. He torched Torrey North today to 10 birdies including eight on his last 10 holes. Overall, he hit 12 (of 14) fairways, 16 greens and required just 26 putts. The 62 matches his career low on the PGA TOUR. He first turned in the number in the first round of the JT Shriners in 2009. At the time he signed his card today, he owned a two-stroke clubhouse lead.

Levin was lurking when play was suspended on Thursday. He didn’t lose any mojo overnight, returning to wrap up his opener before turning around to bury a pair of long-range birdies on his first two holes of his second round. In the lid-lifter, he hit 16 greens and circled seven birdies, including conversions of 14'7" and 13'5" at the third and fourth holes, respectively.