Once a hard drinker with a hot temper, the 38-year-old journeyman is sober and experiencing a natural high after winning his first Korn Ferry Tour event.
Early Monday morning, I reached Spencer Levin by phone to discuss his win from a day earlier in the Korn Ferry Tour’s Veritex Bank Championship at the Texas Rangers Golf Club in Arlington, Texas. I first met the 38-year-old Elk Grove, Calif., native at the 2004 U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills, where he was the low amateur with a tie for 13th. That week he mesmerized the crowds on the east end of Long Island with his steady play and a hole in one at the par-3 17th hole during the first round.
By then his reputation was cemented in the golf world as a very talented chain-smoking and heavy-drinking player who could show extraordinary displays of anger on the golf course. He carried that reputation to the PGA Tour, where he made $8.2 million in seven full seasons before losing his full-time playing privileges after the 2016-17 season. In many of those years, regardless of how he finished in a tournament, he would end the week by getting drunk, downing seven or eight beers.
ABOUT KORN FERRY TOUR
Founded (1990), owned and operated by the PGA TOUR, the Korn Ferry Tour identifies and develops those players who are ready to compete and win on golf’s biggest stage. In 2013, the Korn Ferry Tour became The Path to the PGA TOUR with all 50 available PGA TOUR cards coming through the Tour and the season culminating at the Korn Ferry Tour Finals. This season marks the 31st year of competition on the Korn Ferry Tour. Three out of four PGA TOUR members are Korn Ferry Tour alumni. Tour alumni have won more than 500 PGA TOUR titles, including 24 major championships and eight PLAYERS Championships. To learn more about the PGA TOUR, the Korn Ferry Tour and to follow the season-long quest for a PGA TOUR card, visit PGATOUR.COM, or follow the Tour on social media via Instagram (@KornFerryTour), Twitter (@KornFerryTour) and Facebook (facebook.com/KornFerryTour).
ABOUT KORN FERRY
Korn Ferry is a global organizational consulting firm. We work with clients to design their organizational structures, roles and responsibilities. We help them hire the right people and advise them on how to reward, develop and motivate their workforce. And, we help professionals navigate and advance their careers.
ABOUT VERITEX COMMUNITY BANK
Veritex Community Bank is dedicated to be the best bank in Texas. Veritex takes pride in being a community bank with local decisions. Specializing in business banking, commercial loans, small business lending, treasury management and mortgages. Veritex takes the time to get to know you and your specific needs and provide you the expert banking advice you seek.
What does it mean to be honest-to-goodness banking experts? It means you get exceptional customer service, smart banking choices and the peace of mind that comes with knowing Veritex is invested in you and your community. From over 40 banking centers in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex, the greater Houston area, Louisville, KY and surrounding areas as well as a local home mortgage office in Dallas, Veritex is the community bank with a difference because they’re making a difference in the community.
ABOUT ANERA SPORTS, LLC.
Founded in 2018 by the past executive director of the Texas Golf Association and TGA Foundation, Rob Addington, Anera has quickly established a presence in the golf community. Anera provides event management services to some of the top amateur championships in the country and operates the business of several amateur golf associations including the Trans-Miss Golf Association and the Amateur Golf Alliance. Anera also provides consulting services to corporations, clubs and tournaments in the strategic planning, management and implementation of sports related initiatives. Anera has created and managed championships at some of the top ranked clubs in the country and is dedicated to providing a first class experience for all parties. Anera is headquartered in Dallas, TX.
