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 ...

Early life and amateur career

Levenson was born in

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and Xhosa language, Xhosa: eGoli ) (colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, Jo'burg or "The City of Gold") is the most populous city in South Africa. With 5,538,596 people in the City of Johannesburg alon ...

. He represented South Africa in the 1976

Eisenhower Trophy The Eisenhower Trophy (World Men's Amateur Team Championships) is the biennial World Amateur Team Championship for men organized by the International Golf Federation. Since the tournament was first played in 1958 Eisenhower Trophy, 1958, it is nam ...

and won several major amateur tournaments including the French and Rhodesian Open Amateur Championships in 1978.

Professional career

In 1978, Levenson turned professional and joined the

European Tour The European Tour, currently titled as the DP World Tour for sponsorship reasons, and legally the PGA European Tour or the European Tour Group, is the leading men's professional golf tour in Europe. The organisation also operates the European ...

the following year. He won 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 The PGA Tour (stylized as PGA TOUR by its officials) is the organizer of professional golf tours in North America. It organizes most of the events on the flagship annual series of tournaments also known as the PGA Tour, the PGA Tour Champion ...

. 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. 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 during the

northern hemisphere The Northern Hemisphere is the half of Earth that is north of the equator. For other planets in the Solar System, north is defined by humans as being in the same celestial sphere, celestial hemisphere relative to the invariable plane of the Solar ...

winters. He won five titles in South Africa, including one South African Open Championship and one South African PGA Championship, and topped the Order of Merit in 1983/84. Since turning fifty, Levenson has played on the European Seniors Tour, where he has one victory, achieved in just his second tournament, the 2004 DGM Barbados Open.

Amateur wins

*1975 South African Amateur Stroke-Play Championship *1978 French Amateur Open Championship, Rhodesian Amateur Open Championship

Professional wins (8)

European Tour wins (2)

Southern Africa Tour wins (5)

European Seniors Tour wins (1)

Results in major championships

''Note: Levenson never played in the

Masters Tournament The Masters Tournament (usually referred to as simply the Masters, or as the U.S. Masters outside North America) is one of the four men's major championships in professional golf. Scheduled for the first full week in April, the Masters is the ...

.''
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" = tied

Team appearances

Amateur * Commonwealth Tournament (representing South Africa): 1975 *

(representing South Africa):

1976 Events January * January 2 – 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 18 – Full diplomatic ...

External links

* * * * {{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 sportsmen