Theo Humphrey and his infamous bouts of slow play have often seen the split side of the Internet. Once again, a video is making rounds from the 2025 PGA Tour Q-School Final Stage. In the clip, he can be seen fidgeting and yipping as others wait for him to take his shot. Fans have called him out, asking for a penalty, while Monday Q has rationalized this behavior as a mental health struggle. As frustration and curiosity mount, the unfamiliar crowd wonders who this 29-year-old American is, suddenly on their phone’s screen?

Top Stories

LIV Golf to Cut Ties With Veteran Pro After His PGA Tour Return Intentions Became Public

Charley Hull Opens Up on ‘Traumatic’ Divorce from Ex-Husband for the First Time Ever

‘Penalize Him’: PGA Tour Q-School Faces Heat as Slow Play Incident Goes Unaddressed

How Good Is Charlie Woods at Golf? John Daly, Phil Mickelson & More Give Their Verdicts

LIV Golf CEO Goes Into Damage Control Mode After Jon Rahm Declined to Pay DP World Tour Fines

A blue-chip talent whose game was never the problem

Unlike many of his counterparts, Theo Humphrey didn’t arrive in the golf scene as an underdog. Raised in Greenwich, Connecticut, he was one of the country’s top junior players. His ball-strike was polished, and he was a renowned name at Vanderbilt University. He was his team leader, and he reached the semis of the 2017 US Amateur. A year later, Humphrey earned the SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year and a First Team All-American. He went pro the same year.

His resume clears the doubt on his potential. Presently, he is still physically equipped to hit long. Sometimes his golf ball passes 310 yards, impressing his coaches. But pro golf is not just about ball-striking. Quite often, it becomes more about survival, and that’s where Humphrey seems to be lacking these days.

For long, the American has talked about his mental health struggle. He is an anxious fellow, with constant “yips,” as one would say in golf terms, obstructing his course. He battles heavy intrusive thoughts that turn simple pre-shot routines into a long-drawn struggle. For the regular audience, this could appear to be a frustrating process of slow play.

Many times, Theo Humphrey’s competitors on the range have sympathized with him. Still, they can only do so much. According to Monday Q Info, despite the sympathy, long delays have several times tested the group’s patience. For Humphrey, on the other hand, it is an everyday fight.

Theo Humphrey is often misunderstood

When Theo Humphrey is on the course, ready to tee off, it’s understood that he’ll take at least 3 minutes to start. The viral Q-School moment on the internet is not even the longest he has fidgeted around.

Earlier this year, at the Explore NB open, the crowd watched him struggling for almost two minutes just to pull the trigger on a tee shot. The same happened in August, during the Manitoba Open. At the rainy event, Humphrey reportedly took more than three minutes to go for his shot. This time, he was given a one-stroke slow-play penalty. Yet, in the end, he won the tournament.

That win was the biggest of his career. For any other player, it should’ve been the headline of their season. But Theo Humphrey spent his post-match interviews justifying his actions on the course. He recalled how the past few years have been “bad,” and golf turned from being fun into an anxious ball that sucked away his confidence.

“We all know golf mentally is really hard. I just got in a bad way for a bunch of years…it’s been really hard for me for a lot of years,” Humphrey told the Winnipeg Free Press.

To overcome this, he has leaned on several support systems, one of them being his dad. He often caddies for his son and provides him with the clarity that Humphrey needs to give his best game.

“It was fun to have him,” Theo Humphrey said during the Manitoba Open. “I know how good it can be when I’m really thinking clearly and doing the things I want to.”

Humphrey has finished his season ranked 9th in the Fortinet Cup Standings. This makes him eligible for the KFT for the 2026 season.