Alexander Lévy
| Alexander Lévy | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Personal information | |
| Nickname | El Toro[1] |
| Born | 1 August 1990 Orange, California, U.S. |
| Height | 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in) |
| Weight | 82 kg (181 lb; 12.9 st) |
| Sporting nationality |  France |
| Residence | Bandol, France |
| Career | |
| Turned professional | 2011 |
| Current tour(s) | European Tour |
| Former tour(s) | Challenge Tour |
| Professional wins | 5 |
| Highest ranking | 46 (6 May 2018)[2] (as of 3 November 2024) |
| Number of wins by tour | |
| European Tour | 5 |
| Other | 2 |
| Best results in major championships | |
| Masters Tournament | DNP |
| PGA Championship | T30: 2014 |
| U.S. Open | T27: 2015 |
| The Open Championship | CUT: 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019 |
Alexander Lévy (French pronunciation: [le.vi]; born 1 August 1990) is a French professional golfer who currently plays on the European Tour.[3][4]
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]- 2009 French Native Amateur Championship
- 2010 French International Amateur Championship
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 |
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 |
QF, R16, R32, R64 = Round in which player lost in match play
"T" = tied
Team appearances
[edit]Amateur
- European Boys' Team Championship (representing France): 2008[17]
- European Amateur Team Championship (representing France): 2009, 2010, 2011
- Eisenhower Trophy (representing France): 2010 (winners)
Professional
- EurAsia Cup (representing Europe): 2018 (winners)
- World Cup (representing France): 2018
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ 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.
- ^ "Week 18 2018 Ending 6 May 2018" (pdf). OWGR. Retrieved 5 October 2019.
- ^ a b c d e Hanlon, Matt (1 July 2014). "Levy c'est grand". Orange County Register.
- ^ "European Tour - Player Profile". European Tour. Retrieved 27 April 2014.
- ^ a b Kaplan, Ron (29 April 2014). "Fore". Archived from the original on 9 July 2014.
- ^ Bamberger, Michael (25 March 2015). "Alcott, Fleisher, Pressel: Don't Pass Over Jewish Golfers". Golf Magazine.
- ^ a b "Alexander Levy biography". PGA European Tour.
- ^ a b "IMG Golf - Player Profile". IMG Golf. Archived from the original on 26 April 2014. Retrieved 27 April 2014.
- ^ "Alexander Levy wins China Open in Shenzhen by four shots". BBC Sport. Retrieved 27 April 2014.
- ^ "2014 Volvo China Open - Official Score". PGA European Tour. Retrieved 27 April 2014.
- ^ "Levy keen to continue French renaissance". PGA European Tour. Retrieved 27 April 2014.
- ^ "Levy named Race to Dubai Golfer of the Month". PGA European Tour. Retrieved 2 May 2014.
- ^ "2014 PGA Championship Field". PGA of America. Retrieved 7 August 2014.
- ^ "Portugal Masters: Alexander Levy wins rain-shortened event". BBC Sport. 12 October 2014.
- ^ a b c "Alexander Levy – The Man With The Golden Touch". Volvo China Open. 30 April 2017.
- ^ Beall, Joel (25 September 2016). "Alexander Levy delivers an instant-classic club twirl in Euro Tour win". Golf Digest.
- ^ "European Boys' Team Championship – European Golf Association". Retrieved 22 January 2023.
External links
[edit]- Alexander Lévy at the European Tour official site
- Alexander Lévy at the Official World Golf Ranking official site
- French male golfers
- European Tour golfers
- Golfers from California
- Jewish American golfers
- American people of French-Jewish descent
- American expatriate sportspeople in France
- Sportspeople from Orange, California
- 1990 births
- Living people
- 21st-century French Jews
- 21st-century American Jews
- 21st-century French sportsmen