Trying to move a rock out of the way so that he can get a clear path for his swing, Ben Kohles made a huge error on the golf course. The Korn Ferry Tour pro ended up moving the ball. The entire episode was caught on live television in the ongoing PGA Tour Q-School event.

As tweeted by the organization’s official X account, “Co-leader, Ben Kohles, accidentally moves ball, resulting in a one-stroke penalty at PGA TOUR Q-School presented by Korn Ferry.”

They confirmed that he went from being tied for the first spot to being tied for ninth. The one-stroke penalty on the 8th hole turned into a 479-yard par-4 8th hole turned into a double bogey. And that was only the beginning of misfortune for Kohles.

His stroke of misfortune continued on the 9th hole as he managed to score another double bogey. His tee shot went out of bounds, and he had to get a drop and incur a penalty stroke. That pushed him further down to T11.

By the end of the front nine, the American was already 4 strokes away from the top of the leaderboard. He was also 6 positions off a qualifying spot to receive a PGA Tour card. In the back 9, he will need to jump up into the top 5 of the leaderboard if he wants to receive a PGA Tour membership for 2026.

Unfortunately, it will be nearly impossible for Kohles to achieve that feat. Scoring 5-under par in 9 holes is a mammoth task on its own. But the rest of the field also has quite a few holes to play to improve their scores and increase the gap.

That being said, who is taking charge at the top of the table going into the back 9? Let’s take a look at the probable PGA Tour card winners for 2026.

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Who will steal the PGA Tour membership from Ben Kohles in the Q-School event?

With fewer opportunities to qualify from the Korn Ferry Tour leaderboard, the Q-School was the last hope for some of the pros. And many of them managed to strike gold by remaining consistent through the four rounds at Sawgrass Country Club.

Retaining his PGA Tour status after getting demoted in 2025 will be Alejandro Tosti. The Argentine pro endured a terrible run on the Tour this season. He missed six cuts in a row towards the end of the year. However, he didn’t spend too long outside the PGA Tour. Tosti is in a promising position to finish well within the top-5 and return to the PGA Tour in 2026.

Camilo Villegas is also living on the edge on the Q-School leaderboard. He’s very close to the top-5 position, but will still need to put in some work to make it through.

The PGA Tour might see a new face as a regular member in 2026. The 36-year-old Marcelo Rozo is also in a great position to finish at the top. If he ends up in the top 5, then it will be the first time in his career that he receives a PGA Tour card. That would be a moment worth capturing for the on-course reporters.

As the tournament comes to a close, it will be interesting to see who ends up capturing the final spots.