ESPN Golf

WINTER GARDEN, Fla. -- For the first time all week, officials at Orange County National placed a cash bar on the patio within close proximity to the so-called Wailing Wall, where players at the PGA Tour Qualifying Tournament traditionally congregate to take stock of their fate.

The numbers on the massive scoreboard told the cold, hard truth, and so it was only fitting that refreshments were placed nearby. For some, it was to celebrate; for others, to drown their sorrows.

Spencer Levin, an up-and-coming 23-year-old from California who first became prominent when he made a hole-in-one and was low amateur at the 2004 U.S. Open, did not really qualify for either category on Monday afternoon.

And he didn't need to look at the scoreboard to know.

As Levin traversed the final holes in this six-day, 108-hole marathon known as Q-school, he felt his chances of making it to the PGA Tour in 2008 had all but vanished with a couple of back-nine bogeys. Still, he finished high enough to be fully exempt on the Nationwide Tour, which these days is no small consolation.

"If I had made it on the number [top 25 and ties], I probably wouldn't get in all the [PGA Tour] tournaments anyway," Levin said after shooting an even-par 72 that left him tied for 42nd -- three shots from getting his PGA Tour card. Obviously I wanted to make the tour today. But I'm happy. I'm in a lot better shape than I was last year. I'm looking forward to playing a full schedule."

When Levin made two birdies on the front nine, he had moved to within the number necessary to finish among the top 25. As it turned out, he would have needed to go one lower and get to 14-under-par to join the 26 players who got their cards. Those two back-nine birdies left him at 11-under.

As if just to show that it was possible, Levin played alongside Todd Demsey, who has survived two surgeries for a brain tumor. Demsey shot 64 on Monday and moved up to eighth place, earning his PGA Tour card.

Levin could not put together the same kind of round. He lamented a number of putts that did not fall, such as the birdie try he had at the 11th hole that would have gotten him to 3-under for his round. Then he three-putted the 12th for bogey, missed an 8-footer for birdie at the 14th and missed a 5-footer for par on the 15th.

Suddenly he was faced with having to make three birdies to finish.

"Honestly, I felt some pressure coming down the stretch here," Levin said. "I was trying to stay as calm as I could, but it was hard. But it wasn't nearly as bad as second stage [of qualifying]. That was way more nerve-wracking than this. I'm sure if I were on the number with a couple of holes to go, I would have felt it. I still felt it. When you know you have to make a putt, it's a little bit different feeling. But I'm learning. I'm sure everybody goes through it. Just one of those things."

Levin admitted he was exhausted. Mentally and physically.

How could he not be?

"This was a very tough week for everybody. A grueling week," said PGA Tour veteran Chris Riley, who failed to secure his card. "If anybody touches a club next week, I think they're a little loose upstairs."

Levin planned to take a few days off, but he was already looking forward to getting started. He plans to play as much as possible on the Nationwide Tour, starting with a tournament late next month in Panama.

That is the beauty of the modern-day Q-school. In the old days, it was such an all-or-nothing proposition. Either get your card, or spend the next year trying to find places to hone your game so you could try this again next year.

Now, anyone who makes it to Q-school finals at least has conditional status on the Nationwide Tour, where the money is not nearly as good but where 25 PGA Tour cards await the top finishers on the money list. And for the next number closest to 50 after the top 25 -- such as Levin -- it means fully exempt status, meaning a set schedule on an established, although less prominent, tour.

"He's got a bright future, his game is ready for the tour," said Steve Duplantis, a veteran PGA Tour caddie who worked for Levin at Q-school. "I just think it's going to do him good to spend time on the Nationwide Tour to polish himself up as a professional. His game is all-world right now.

"His attitude is great. He can be a [Jim] Furyk or a [David] Toms type of guy. When they step on the first tee with a Tiger Woods, they are probably overmatched. But he doesn't believe that and neither does Furyk. He always thought he could win. Spencer has that kind of mindset, too. He doesn't see that he is overmatched by anybody. He'll step on the first tee right now with anybody and that attitude will carry him through."

Levin, who made his first trip to the Q-school finals this year and played on the Canadian Tour, where he was second on the money list, would prefer to tee it up with the big boys next month in Hawaii or California.

But he was hardly left wallowing at the Wailing Wall.

"I missed the tour by a couple of shots and all that, but I'm moving in the right direction," he said "I've only been playing golf for about eight years. I'm playing better, moving in the right direction.

"My first year on the AJGA I didn't do well, then I played great. My first year at UCLA, I didn't do well, then I transferred [to the University of New Mexico] and played great. My first couple of years as a pro I haven't done anything and then now I'm starting to get better. And I feel like my career is moving in the right direction."

Bob Harig is a frequent contributor to ESPN.com. He can be reached at BobHarig@gmail.com.