Alexander Lévy (French pronunciation: [le.vi]; born 1 August 1990) is a French professional golfer who currently plays on the European Tour.[3][4]

Alexander Lévy
Personal information
NicknameEl Toro[1]
Born (1990-08-01) 1 August 1990 (age 33)
Orange, California, U.S.
Height1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Weight82 kg (181 lb; 12.9 st)
Sporting nationality France
ResidenceBandol, France
Career
Turned professional2011
Current tour(s)European Tour
Former tour(s)Challenge Tour
Professional wins5
Highest ranking46 (6 May 2018)[2]
(as of 24 March 2024)
Number of wins by tour
European Tour5
Other2
Best results in major championships
Masters TournamentDNP
PGA ChampionshipT30: 2014
U.S. OpenT27: 2015
The Open ChampionshipCUT: 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019

Lévy won the French Amateur Championship in 2009, and the French International Amateur Championship the next year. Turning pro in 2011, his first wins of the European Tour came in 2014 at the Volvo China Open and the Portugal Masters. He won a title each year between 2016 and 2018 : the 2016 Porsche European Open, the 2017 Volvo China Open and the Trophee Hassan II in 2018. He rose to 47th in the world following this last victory. At a nationwide level, only fellow countryman Thomas Levet is in possession of more titles on the European Tour (6), Levy currently trails Levet by one.

Personal life edit

Levy was born to French parents on 1 August 1990 in Orange, California, and is Jewish.[3][5][6] His father (Philippe) and mother are pharmacists.[3][7]

When he was four years old, his family moved to Bandol, France, where he resides.[3][7] At 14 years of age, he joined the French Federation of Golf's academy for secondary school.[3] His nickname is El Toro.[1]

Amateur career edit

Lévy had a successful amateur career before turning professional, winning the French Amateur Championship in 2009 and the French International Amateur Championship the next year,[8] when he was also a member of the winning French team at the Eisenhower Trophy World Team Championship.

Professional career edit

Turning pro in 2011,[8] Lévy initially played on the Challenge Tour as an invited player in 2011 and 2012 before earning his European Tour playing rights at qualifying school for the 2013 season.

His first win of the European Tour came at the Volvo China Open in 2014, an event co-sanctioned with the OneAsia Tour, where he shot a 19-under-par 269.[5][9][10] During the second round, Lévy shot a course record 62 at Genzon Golf Club giving him a four-stroke lead at the halfway point from which he was able to hold on to win.[11] Following this win Levy was named as April 2014 European Tour Golfer of the Month[12]

His first appearance in a major championship was at the 2014 PGA Championship.[13] In October 2014, he claimed his second European Tour win at the Portugal Masters in an event which was shortened to 36 holes due to adverse weather conditions.[14] With his win, he became the first French golfer to win more than once in the same season.[15]

In winning the 2016 Porsche European Open at Bad Griesbach, Germany, at the age of 26 years and 55 days, he became the youngest Frenchman in history to win three European Tour titles.[15][16]

He again won the Volvo China Open in 2017, becoming the first two-time winner of the event in its 23-year history.[15]

Amateur wins edit

Professional wins (5) edit

European Tour wins (5) edit

No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory
Runner-up
1 27 Apr 2014 Volvo China Open1 −19 (68-62-70-69=269) 4 strokes   Tommy Fleetwood
2 12 Oct 2014 Portugal Masters −18 (63-61=124)* 3 strokes   Nicolas Colsaerts
3 25 Sep 2016 Porsche European Open −19 (62-63-69=194)* Playoff   Ross Fisher
4 30 Apr 2017 Volvo China Open1 (2) −17 (63-70-71-67=271) Playoff   Dylan Frittelli
5 22 Apr 2018 Trophée Hassan II −8 (72-69-69-70=280) 1 stroke   Álvaro Quirós

*Note: Tournament shortened to 36/54 holes due to weather.
1Co-sanctioned by the OneAsia Tour

European Tour playoff record (2–2)

No. Year Tournament Opponent(s) Result
1 2014 BMW Masters   Ross Fisher,   Marcel Siem Siem won with birdie on first extra hole
2 2016 Porsche European Open   Ross Fisher Won with birdie on second extra hole
3 2017 Volvo China Open   Dylan Frittelli Won with birdie on first extra hole
4 2017 Porsche European Open   Jordan Smith Lost to birdie on second extra hole

Results in major championships edit

Tournament 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
Masters Tournament
U.S. Open T27 CUT CUT
The Open Championship CUT CUT CUT
PGA Championship T30 CUT CUT CUT
Tournament 2019
Masters Tournament
PGA Championship
U.S. Open
The Open Championship CUT
  Did not play

CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place

Results in World Golf Championships edit

Results not in chronological order before 2015.

Tournament 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
Championship T38
Match Play T52 T36
Invitational T58
Champions T14 T58 T31 T28
  Did not play

QF, R16, R32, R64 = Round in which player lost in match play
"T" = tied

Team appearances edit

Amateur

Professional

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ a b Gray, Will (1 November 2014). "Alexander Levy Could Become Next Breakout Star on European Tour". Golf Channel. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 9 February 2015.
  2. ^ "Week 18 2018 Ending 6 May 2018" (pdf). OWGR. Retrieved 5 October 2019.
  3. ^ a b c d e Hanlon, Matt (1 July 2014). "Levy c'est grand". Orange County Register.
  4. ^ "European Tour - Player Profile". European Tour. Retrieved 27 April 2014.
  5. ^ a b Kaplan, Ron (29 April 2014). "Fore". Archived from the original on 9 July 2014.
  6. ^ Bamberger, Michael (25 March 2015). "Alcott, Fleisher, Pressel: Don't Pass Over Jewish Golfers". Golf Magazine.
  7. ^ a b "Alexander Levy biography". PGA European Tour.
  8. ^ a b "IMG Golf - Player Profile". IMG Golf. Archived from the original on 26 April 2014. Retrieved 27 April 2014.
  9. ^ "Alexander Levy wins China Open in Shenzhen by four shots". BBC Sport. Retrieved 27 April 2014.
  10. ^ "2014 Volvo China Open - Official Score". PGA European Tour. Retrieved 27 April 2014.
  11. ^ "Levy keen to continue French renaissance". PGA European Tour. Retrieved 27 April 2014.
  12. ^ "Levy named Race to Dubai Golfer of the Month". PGA European Tour. Retrieved 2 May 2014.
  13. ^ "2014 PGA Championship Field". PGA of America. Retrieved 7 August 2014.
  14. ^ "Portugal Masters: Alexander Levy wins rain-shortened event". BBC Sport. 12 October 2014.
  15. ^ a b c "Alexander Levy – The Man With The Golden Touch". Volvo China Open. 30 April 2017.
  16. ^ Beall, Joel (25 September 2016). "Alexander Levy delivers an instant-classic club twirl in Euro Tour win". Golf Digest.
  17. ^ "European Boys' Team Championship – European Golf Association". Retrieved 22 January 2023.

External links edit