David Llewellyn (golfer)

David Llewellyn
Personal information
Full nameDavid John Llewellyn
Born (1951-11-18) 18 November 1951 (age 73)
Dover, Kent, England
Sporting nationality Wales
Career
Turned professional1968
Former tour(s)European Tour
Professional wins13
Number of wins by tour
European Tour1
Challenge Tour2
Other10
Best results in major championships
Masters TournamentDNP
PGA ChampionshipDNP
U.S. OpenDNP
The Open ChampionshipT56: 1972
Achievements and awards
Sir Henry Cotton
Rookie of the Year		1971

David John Llewellyn (born 18 November 1951) is a Welsh professional golfer.

Llewellyn played on the European Tour in the 1970s after being named the Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year in 1971. He achieved a personal best ranking of 39th on the Order or Merit in 1974, but did not win any tournaments in this period. After a spell as a club professional at Craythorne Golf Centre (1975–78), Royal Malta Golf Club (1978–81) and Thirsk and Northallerton Golf Club (1982–84), he returned to tournament golf in 1984, and collected several tournament victories during the following years. His sole win on the main European Tour was the 1988 AGF Biarritz Open, when he set a tour record four round total of 258.[1] The scoring record was tied by Llewellyn's countryman Ian Woosnam in 1990 and not beaten until more than 32 years later, when Andy Sullivan scored 257 at the 2020 English Championship.

Llewellyn also won the 1987 Vernon's tournament in Merseyside, on the informal European satellite tour which existed before the official Challenge Tour was founded, and the 1991 Ivory Coast Open, which was a Challenge Tour event. However the highlight of his career was perhaps winning the World Cup of Golf for Wales alongside Ian Woosnam in 1987.

Llewellyn left the tour for a second time in the early 1990s to return to being a club professional. He later became National Coach to the Golf Union of Wales between 2002 and 2007.

Professional wins (13)

European Tour wins (1)

No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory		 Runner-up
1 3 Apr 1988 AGF Biarritz Open −14 (64-69-60-65=258) 7 strokes Republic of Ireland Christy O'Connor Jnr

European Tour playoff record (0–1)

No. Year Tournament Opponent Result
1 1985 Compagnie de Chauffe Cannes Open England Robert Lee Lost to par on first extra hole

Challenge Tour wins (2)

No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory		 Runner-up
1 1 Oct 1989 Motorola Classic −12 (65-69-71-67=272) 4 strokes England David Williams
2 16 Dec 1990
(1991 season) 		Ivory Coast Open −13 (67-66-71-71=275) 2 strokes England Jeff Pinsent

Safari Circuit wins (2)

No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory		 Runner-up
1 17 Feb 1985 Ivory Coast Open −11 (67-70-71-69=277) 1 stroke Scotland Brian Gunson
2 27 Feb 1988 Zambia Open −12 (72-70-68-70=280) 1 stroke England Richard Fish

Other wins (8)

Results in major championships

Tournament 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979
The Open Championship CUT T56 CUT
Tournament 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989
The Open Championship CUT CUT CUT CUT CUT

Note: Llewellyn only played in The Open Championship.

  Did not play

CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" = tied

Team appearances

References

  1. ^ Woolford, Anthony (9 November 2012). "Golf: Welshman David Llewellyn is still the man to beat". WalesOnline.