News: AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am
February 8 2012
2:15 pm
Levin puts collapse in rearview mirror
Interview: Spencer Levin
Spencer Levin addressed the media and discussed losing a six-shot lead at the Waste Management Phoenix Open.
By Brian Wacker, PGATOUR.COM
PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. — Playing with a six-shot lead is a lot easier said than done. At least according to Spencer Levin.
“You don’t have so many weird thoughts,” Levin said Wednesday, a little more than a week removed from shooting a final-round 75 at the Waste Management Phoenix Open. “I didn’t really know how hard it was until I was actually in that situation.”
Levin had so much going on in his head, he didn’t sleep much the night before the final round in Phoenix and woke up in the middle of the night and never got back to sleep — “I wanted the day to be over at 2 in the morning,” he said.
Once Sunday arrived of course, it wasn’t long before Levin’s chances were over with two bogeys in his first six holes to start the landslide. Which is why Levin would prefer coming from behind over having a lead going into Sunday.
“Don’t get me wrong, I’d like a six‑shot lead again,” Levin said. “But I think it’s easier from the aspect that you aren’t expected to win. It’s a little easier on your mind that way for sure.”
The days that have followed have been tough on Levin, who doesn’t have a Facebook, Twitter or even a cell phone but has received plenty of words of encouragement up and down the driving range. Being here hasn’t hurt either.
“I was really bummed out Sunday night, pretty bummed out Monday,” Levin said. “I’ve been thinking about it a lot.
“But I got here, and then I was like, man, I get to play Pebble Beach. It’s not like you’re going home and playing the muni in your backyard, so I didn’t think about it much playing out here.”
PGATOUR.com is part of Turner - SI Digital, part of the Turner Sports & Entertainment Digital Network 
Levine’s overshadowed agonizing loss was Stanley’s awesome unforgettable comeback victory.
Good luck this week Spence! A lot of people are pulling for you.
Yea! Goodluck dude
Thats make this week a W
His swing will never hold up under pressure. It’s way to quick and gets quicker with his heart rate.
X24…we finally agree!! Levin seems to be “up and out” of his swing too quickly, and has his misses going both ways, which is death on the PGA Tour. I’m sure this kid would be a star on the Euro Tour, but when you play with the big boys, you need to finish. Way too many guys shooting low numbers in the final round when they take more chances to think that marginal rounds will hold up. We saw that in Hong Kong when McIlroy beat a bunch of no-names, but it won’t happen in the US. Too mant great players…
I am going write down this date for historical purposes Gail!!!!
Like he says, he just needs to keep having fun out there. He’s a fun player to watch and he will rebound. I think Gail and X24 will be eating their words when he wins, which will be sooner rather than later. You can’t argue with the way he has progressed over last four years. Don’t see that progression slowing down anytime soon. He’ll be fine.
Progessed? Have you been gone from Earth recently? C’mon Grant, the guy has gone from major champion to has-been, and there’s nothing that shows that he’s “on his way back” or “improving.” He looks like he’s done, and although you’d like to think otherwise, there’s exactly zero evidence that he can win again…ZERO…
Grant – he folded on a course he plays more than any pro and he had a huge lead. He is and always will be too quick and twitchy. I don’t think he has the mental strength to overcome adversity in the final stages of an event. His wheels started to wobble and you could see it on his face, he was done. If they ban the “belly” he is done for sure.
These guys are pros! They all have basically the same talent…they can dominate a golf course at any given time. The only difference between them is mental toughness. Spencer will overcome this loss. Remember the saying what dont kill you makes you stronger. I think he learnt a lot about himself out there last week. I think he is gonna pull off a Stanley n win this week!
Gail-Have you checked the world golf rankings lately? The Europeans dominate it! Do you remember the majors last year? Bradley was the only American born winner. I dont see many Americans winning on the European tour!
C’mon Shay…John Daly said he would have won last week if he had played at all for the 4 weeks prior to the event. Our guys get huge appearance fees, are put up with expenses paid at the finest hotels, and it doesn’t matter if they make the cut! Please, don’t talk about the Euro Tour until it can stand on it’s own without paying Americans. Until that happens, it’s no better than the Hooters Tour in the US. And by the way, what’s with Westwood swearing on the 16th tee at Qatar? Guess once there’s a microphone, guys other than Tiger might also be guilty?
His swing won’t hold up under pressure??PLEASE!!! To get to the level Levin is at, his swing is just fine. Just to get on tour is a miracle in itself, but to finish 2011 31st on the money list is amazing. For Levin to be nervous is human nature. I’m sure he still loved cashing in on the $415,000 pay check!!!!
He will be very good at cashing checks but not good at winning events. He gets too angry and moves way to fast. His swing did not hold up on Sunday. That is a fact.
Gail – we were talking about Levin. Levin has progressed. With each year on tour he has finished the season with more money, top tens, fedex cup points and a better world ranking than the year before. If that’s not progression I dont know what is.
X24 – yes his tempo and swing are fast. but that just goes to show you how good his hand eye coordination must be to hit it as straight as he does and score as low as he does on such a consistent basis. he needs to master his nerves a little more, but that will come with being in that position more often. it’s only a matter of time until he pulls it out. anyone who can shoot a 10 under round on tour has the ability to pull out a w from even the most unlikely of sunday spots. and bottom line, im sure he’ll be just fine with those 400k dollar checks. keep em comin
I’m sure he wants to win but if he doesnt win soon I think he has the destructive gene and that will be his end. Also the longer you play the harder it gets when you are depending soley on hand eye coordination and not on solid mechanics. What happened to his amazing skill on Sunday?
The Europeans are great. Currently in the United Kingdom they have 6 career majors among their top players. Mickelson only has 4, Tiger only has 14. Tiger and Phil only have 3 times as many as the “great” UK. I think the Brits are def better as evidenced by their wins on the Japanese tour.
GRANT I have seen addicts desperately looking for a fix look more comfortable then levin last week.
Good luck Spencer. You will get it down no doubt you are to good not too.
All part of the learning process just ask Kyle lol
Go Spencer!
Gail and X24 must not be golfers and have no idea what it takes to play the game of golf. Spencer Levin will win on tour, you can put that in INK!…
You must not know of Levin’s history in golf and his steady rise in the world rankings. It’s OK though, not everyone follows golf that closely.
Grant understands.
Tiger woo- I know what I saw on Sunday. That’s where his amazing rise stopped and the he fell to 3rd place. I know that’s in ink, as a matter of fact I have it on my dvr if you want to refresh your memory. Those are facts. Where are your facts that he will win? I think you hope that he will win, which is nice but he had a chance that most guys never get. He had a huge lead on a course he knows like the back of his hand and only one round to go and lost it all. Bash me all you want, but that’s because you know what I’m saying is true. You saw it with your own eyes.
gail and x24. You guys are idiots. The guy is a PGA Tour player, has won many events in his jr, amateur and pro career. Obviously not at this level yet but it was his first time being in that position. Easy for you clueless ppl to comment how he “folded” etc but you don’t know the feeling unless you’ve been there. He’ll learn, just like stanley did and be better next time. Figure it out and stop the pointless criticism.
Holy hell! I didnt even make a comment that has claimed my name! I m out of here! U all enjoy the bots!
Did you call me an idiot and then tell me to figure it out? How could I? The difference between this guy and Kyle Stanley is all in the fundamentals. Kevin is just to quick for his own good and it won’t hold up under pressure. He proved it on Sunday. You say he has all of this experience but then you say not at this level and now his experience is failing in his own backyard. That’s got to hurt the psyche. I don’t know why you guys are so in love with him,but I think this will be a common theme in his career. He looked like a ticking time bomb on Sunday. He was fighting not to explode and he didn’t, he imploded instead.
Levin not Kevin auto text!!
That was the first time the guy had a lead going into Sunday in his career. Completely different mental approach/psyche compared to trying to chase the leader. He shot -17 thru 3 rounds, clearly the guy can play. Obviously you don’t really have an appreciation for leading a tournament or how tough it is to close on sunday.
X24 Cold…uh I mean hot, or whatever. It appears there is no way you can ever see Levin winning on tour, that’s fine. Which one is it?A- Is it because he kicked your butt on the course
B- maybe stole your girl from you at a frat party
C- Smoldered a cigarette butt on your forehead?
D- All of the above
where did gail and X24 come from anyway, musta just been this year. Go troll Yahoo and get ur isp found please. As For spencer, rock it up man but he misses the cut, hope fantasy people didnt pick em
x24 he used to be !!!B51 slazenger fireball !!!but changed his handle to x24 hot dot… GAIL is english but took american citizenship many years ago…she has never forgiven them for deporting her.
Indifference and arrogance REPELL a mans goals!
You are all wrong and I don’t dislike spencer. I just call them as I see them. He is to quick in the transition when he hits regular shots, so when the pressure of winning is on him he gets quicker and that is what leads to last Sunday. you all watched him do it why are you arguing that it didn’t happen? I guess you guys would tell me I’m wrong if I said the sun is 93 million miles from earth. I mean it’s not like he got some bad bounces, he hit the ball all over the place. If he wins I will admit I was wrong but im feeling no chance of that from what I saw on Sunday.
Spencer, since you don’t have twitter or facebook I doubt you’re reading comment threads either (good for you on that, btw), but kudos to you for the transparency in that interview. We may not all be golfers on national TV but everyone has that “6 shot lead” in whatever they are doing in life and blow it at some point. Great to see you showing some of the mental process of working through it. Hopefully I’ll remember the same points you just made in that interview next time my back is against the wall with some challenge.
Amazingly, I have to agree with X24. Stanley is much better fundamentally than Levin, and unless something drastically changes, Kyle will win a bunch more than Spencer. Look, everyone who makes it on the PGA Tour can play, so it’s a fine line. That being said, I think it’s obvious that Kyle Stanley has more game…
Kyle Stanley is a better player than DJ or Woodland. Watch and see. Levin fuels the existing tension of Sunday with NICOTINE!!! while others are hydrating and munching power bars. Please. Good luck with that, Spencer.
X24 hot and gail…I am so glad you can tell the future and know which guys are going to have great careers and who won’t. Maybe I should take you guys to Vegas to bet on this week’s winner for me. Under your theory, Lee Trevino and Ray Floyd would never have won a golf tournament, let alone multiple majors. If you are good enough to get to the PGA Tour, you are good enough to win there. I imagine these guys will be just fine and will work to make their swings “better under pressure” going forward.
“His swing will never hold up under pressure. It’s way to quick and gets quicker with his heart rate.”
Really?!?! So you have a heart rate monitor on this guy and are doing studies to determine that his swing gets quicker with the heart rate going up, huh?? Let’s leave the golf to the pros and the commentary to the guys who have been it their shoes doing it for a living.
How about that, spencer is put in everyone’s rear view mirror and he was playing the easiest course.
Sweet satisfaction knowing that Levin backed it up with another top ten and another 100k-plus payday. All you Levin haters will just have to keep chunkin it around your local muni courses and writing on comment threads about things you know nothing about.