Arthur Le Fevre (1887 – 27 June 1957) was an Australian professional golfer and golf club maker. He won the 1921

Australian Open The Australian Open is a tennis tournament held annually at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia. The tournament is the first of the four Grand Slam tennis events held each year, preceding the French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open. Th ...

Early life

Le Fevre was born in

Rye, Sussex is a small town and civil parish in the Rother district of East Sussex, England, two miles from the sea at the confluence of three rivers: the Rother, the Tillingham and the Brede. An important member of the mediaeval Cinque Ports confederati ...

, England in 1887 as Arthur Feaver, the son of Henry Feaver and Caroline (née Wiffin). He was at Rye Golf Club and later at Henley. He emigrated to Australia in 1912. He served in the Australian Imperial Force during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, returning to Australia in 1919. His younger brother, Ernest (1893–1968), was also a professional golfer in Australia.

Professional career

Le Fevre was initially an assistant to

Dan Soutar Daniel Gordon Soutar (3 December 1882 – 30 November 1937) was an Australian professional golfer. He pioneered professional golf in Australia, bringing his Scottish work ethic and all-round skills to influence the game as a whole from teachin ...

Manly Golf Club The Manly Golf Club is a golf club in Manly, New South Wales, Australia. It has hosted many events over the years, including the 1946 Australian PGA Championship and the Women's Australian Open in 1977 and 1978. Women's Australian Open winners ...

in Sydney. After World War I he moved to

Royal Melbourne Golf Club Royal Melbourne Golf Club is a 36-hole golf club in Australia, located in Black Rock, Victoria, a suburb southeast of Melbourne. Its West and East courses are respectively ranked number 1 and 6 in Australia. The West course is ranked in the to ...

as an assistant, becoming the acting professional there in 1921 during Victor East's absence in America with

Joe Kirkwood Sr. Joseph Henry Kirkwood Sr. (3 April 1897 – 29 October 1970) was a professional golfer who is acknowledged as having put Australian golf on the world map. Born in Sydney, Australia, Kirkwood left home at age ten to work on a sheep Station (Austr ...

, and soon afterwards the full professional on East's resignation. Le Fevre's biggest success as a player was winning the 1921

at Royal Melbourne. He finished 10 strokes clear of

Tom Rutledge Thomas M. Rutledge is an American communications executive who serves as executive chairman of Charter Communications, having previously served as chairman and CEO before retiring as CEO in December 2022. He previously also served as president o ...

, a local amateur. Le Fevre's first round of 71 and third round of 69 were the best of the tournament. He used just six clubs during the event. The following year he was runner-up to

Charlie Campbell Charlie Campbell (born January 5, 1988, in Mundelein, Illinois) is an American soccer player. Career College and amateur Campbell attended Mundelein High School and played club soccer for the Chicago Sockers, before going on to play college s ...

at Royal Sydney, 3 strokes behind. In 1923 he won the

Victorian Professional Championship The Victorian PGA Championship is a golf tournament played in Victoria, Australia. It has been part of the PGA Tour of Australasia each season since 2009. It is the oldest of the state professional championships, having been first held in 1922. ...

by 14 strokes from Rowley Banks and Campbell. He was runner-up in the event 3 times, in 1926, 1927 and 1930. Le Fevre qualified for the final stage of all three editions of the Sun-Herald Tournament. He lost in the first round in 1924 and 1925 but reached the final in 1926, losing 6&5 to

Frank Eyre Francis Patrick Eyre (c. 1898 – 1 September 1974) was an Australian professional golfer. He won the 1926 Sun-Herald Tournament and the 1930 Australian Open. Early life Eyre was the son of Edward "Happy" Eyre, a life-saver at Manly beach and ...

, taking the second prize of £100.

Later life

Le Fevre retired from his position as the professional at

at the end of 1948, being replaced by

Ossie Pickworth Horace Henry Alfred "Ossie" Pickworth (17 January 1918 – 23 September 1969) was a leading Australian professional golfer of the 1940s and 1950s, winner of three successive Australian Open titles from 1946 to 1948, the last of which came in ...

, although he continued to work as a club maker. He died at his home in Sandringham, Melbourne, Victoria on 27 June 1957.

Professional wins

*1921

*1923 Age and Leader purse,

*1925 Age and Leader purse *1926 Australian Professional tournament *1928 Age and Leader purse

Team appearances

Vicars Shield The Vicars Shield was a professional team golf competition between the states of Australia. It was first played in 1930 and continued as an interstate event until 1956. It was the professional equivalent of the amateur Australian Men's Interstate ...

(representing Victoria): 1930

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lefevre, Arthur Australian male golfers Australian Army soldiers Australian military personnel of World War I Military personnel from Sussex English emigrants to Australia People from Rye, East Sussex 1887 births 1957 deaths