By Mathieu Wood
A return to the scene of your maiden professional victory is always uplifting. For Alexander Levy, his fond memories are heightened by the form he is in on his return to the Volvo China Open after a challenging period in his career.
During a breakout season in 2014, the Frenchman won the first of five DP World Tour titles and two at this event at Hidden Grace Golf Club, formerly known as Genzon.
Levy added three further titles in as many seasons from 2016-2018, with his most success coming at the Trophee Hassan II, playing his way into the conversation for selection at both the 2016 and 2018 Ryder Cup.
However, after narrowly missing out on his sixth DP World Tour victory at the Cazoo Classic in August 2021, he was sidelined for almost a year between February 2022 to January 2023 with a back injury.
Form was hard to come by on his return and he lost his full playing privileges at the end of last season, but he has since rebuilt confidence in his game on the European Challenge Tour.
Alexander Levy's DP World Tour wins
| Event | When |
|---|---|
| Volvo China Open | April 27, 2014 |
| Portugal Masters | October 12, 2014 |
| Porsche European Open | September 25, 2016 |
| Volvo China Open | April 30, 2017 |
| Trophée Hassan II | April 22, 2018 |
“I am really pleased to be here,” Levy told the DP World Tour ahead of the Volvo China Open's return to the DP World Tour schedule for the first time since 2019.
“I have such good memories. The first win is always special. I love this place and I am so happy to be here.
“I realised that (this is the ten-year anniversary of his win in 2014) two days ago!
“A good anniversary, I am happy to be here and looking forward to something positive in the mind… good memories, good energy, it is always nice.”
.@alexlevygolf returns to the @VolvoChinaOpen this week after winning it in 2014 and 2017! 🏆#VolvoChinaOpen pic.twitter.com/T2ypF5pZd2
— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) April 30, 2024
Levy became the first two-time winner of the Volvo China Open in 2017 – then held at Topwin Golf & Country Club – and later rose to a career-high 46th on the Official World Golf Ranking in the weeks following his fifth and most recent DP World Tour title in Morocco.
While the 2012 Qualifying School graduate almost dropped outside of the world's top 800 last year, the 33-year-old is enjoying an upturn in his fortunes on the Challenge Tour so far this season with four top 10s in as many starts heading into this week to climb back inside the top 300.
Reflecting on the injection in confidence he has enjoyed over recent weeks, he added: “For sure, my game is back.
“After my injury, it was not really easy. Last year was tough. I am happy with the way I have managed to get back on the top of the leaderboards. Now, I am looking forward to the next step.”
His run of results over the past couple of months means Levy sits second on the Road to Mallorca Rankings, and while he is glad to be back competing on the DP World Tour his intention is to see out the rest of the campaign on the Challenge Tour.
“This week the goal is just to enjoy [and] remind me what it feels to play on Tour, to get some good energy and I will follow the season on the Challenge Tour.
“But it is nice to be here, I was so happy to be able to come back. We will see what can happen.
“Golf is so special, so we don’t know what the future is.”
