Gavan Neil Levenson (born 18 December 1953) is a South African
professional golfer
A professional golfer is somebody who receives payments or financial rewards in the sport of golf that are directly related to their skill or reputation. A person who earns money by teaching or playing golf is traditionally considered a "golf pr ...
.
Levenson was born in
Johannesburg. He represented South Africa in the 1976
Eisenhower Trophy and won several major amateur tournaments including the French and Rhodesian Open Amateur Championships in 1978. He turned professional later that year and joined the
European Tour
The European Tour (currently known as the DP World Tour for sponsorship reasons), legally the PGA European Tour is the leading men's professional golf tour in Europe. The organisation also operates the European Senior Tour (for players aged fi ...
the following year, winning the
Belgian Open and finishing in 29th place on the Order of Merit in his rookie season.
After two seasons in Europe, Levenson qualified for the United States-based
PGA Tour. He spent four largely unsuccessful years on the tour, only recording one top ten finish when he tied for 4th place at the 1982
Greater Hartford Open
Greater may refer to:
*Greatness, the state of being great
*Greater than, in inequality
* ''Greater'' (film), a 2016 American film
*Greater (flamingo), the oldest flamingo on record
* "Greater" (song), by MercyMe, 2014
*Greater Bank, an Australian ...
. He returned to Europe in 1985, and although he consistently finished inside the top 100 on the Order of Merit, he did not win again on the European Tour until the 1991
Open de Baleares.
Levenson also played on the Southern Africa Tour (now the
Sunshine Tour
The Sunshine Tour is a men's professional golf tour based in Southern and East Africa. For much of its early history it was known either as the South African Tour or Sunshine Circuit; through sponsorship deals, it has also been known as the Vod ...
) during the
northern hemisphere winters. He won five titles in South Africa, including one
South African Open Championship
The South African Open is one of the oldest national open golf championships in the world, having first been played in 1903, and is one of the principal tournaments on the Southern-Africa-based Sunshine Tour. Since 1997 it has also been co-sancti ...
and one
South African PGA Championship
The South African PGA Championship is one of the most prestigious golf tournaments on the Sunshine Tour. It is generally played in February, depending on the Tour Schedule, with a prize fund of 2 million rand, and is currently held at Eye of Afri ...
, and topped the Order of Merit in 1983/84.
Since turning fifty, Levenson has played on the
European Seniors Tour
The Legends Tour is the current branding of the European Senior Tour, a professional tour for male golfers aged 50 and over, run by the PGA European Tour. The tour was branded as the Staysure Tour for the 2018 and 2019 seasons after UK-based insur ...
, where he has one victory, achieved in just his second tournament, the 2004
DGM Barbados Open.
Amateur wins (3)
*1975 South African Amateur Stroke-Play Championship
*1978 French Amateur Open Championship, Rhodesian Amateur Open Championship
Professional wins (8)
European Tour wins (2)
Sunshine Tour wins (5)
European Senior Tour wins (1)
Results in major championships
''Note: Levenson never played in the
Masters Tournament.''
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" = tied
Team appearances
Amateur
*
Commonwealth Tournament
The Commonwealth Tournament was a men's team golf tournament between teams of amateurs golfers from Great Britain, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and South Africa. It was played roughly every four years, in 1954, 1959, 1963, 1967, 1971 and 1975. ...
(representing South Africa): 1975
*
Eisenhower Trophy (representing South Africa):
1976
Events January
* January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force.
* January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea.
* January 11 – The 1976 Phila ...
See also
*
Spring 1981 PGA Tour Qualifying School graduates
*
1983 PGA Tour Qualifying School graduates
This is a list of the 1983 PGA Tour Qualifying School graduates. 57 players earned their 1984 PGA Tour card through Q-School in 1983. The tournament was played over 108 holes at the Tournament Players Club in Ponte Vedra, Florida.
Bob Tway
Robe ...
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Levenson, Gavan
South African male golfers
Sunshine Tour golfers
European Tour golfers
European Senior Tour golfers
PGA Tour golfers
Golfers from Johannesburg
1953 births
Living people
20th-century South African people