The Frenchman entered the final day at Royal Golf Dar Es Salam one shot off the lead but hit the front on the third and never looked back, signing for a 70 and finishing the week at eight under.
That gave him a one-shot victory over Spaniard Alvaro Quiros, who had a birdie-birdie finish to leapfrog Swedish pair Alexander Björk and Joakim Lagergren, Finn Mikko Ilonen and Italian Andrea Pavan.
The victory comes in Levy’s 138th appearance on Tour and provides the perfect momentum as he goes in search of a successful defence and a third title at the Volvo China Open next week.
Frenchman Alex Levy captures a fifth Tour victory with his success at the HJassan 11 Trophy. (Photo – European Tour/Gerry)
It is also the continuation of some excellent form this season, with three top tens in his other five events keeping him very much in contention to provide a local Member for the European Ryder Cup Team that goes to Le Golf National in September.
Indeed, Levy’s win will see him jump from ninth on the points table and ahead of the Irish duo of Paul Dunne and Rory McIlroy plus the England pair of Matthew Fitzpatrick and Tommy Fleetwood to fifth on the European Team points table.
“Like what I said from the start of the season, I need to improve my game,” he said of his Ryder Cup chances. “I need to work a lot. I worked a lot the last two days, two weeks, and I won this trophy.
“So that’s helped me but step by step, it’s a good win but I need to go back to work because we can see we have a lot of good players in Europe. So it will be tough to make it.”
Levy made his first birdie of the day on the third from five feet to move into a share of top spot and when he got on the green at the par five fifth in two for another gain he was the solo leader.
Playing partner Erik van Rooyen also birdied the eighth after a nice chip and he was soon in a share of the lead when Levy went over the back of the green at the seventh and played a poor flop shot.
The 27 year old edged back ahead after leaving himself a short chip into the par five eighth and getting up and down, and the advantage was two shots thanks to a Van Rooyen bogey on the tenth.
Levy made an excellent par save on the 11th as he got up and down from a bunker with a 15-footer and while the chasing pack kept moving between five and six under, nobody could get any closer to the lead.
Pavan had made a surge through the field with birdies on the third, fifth, ninth, tenth, 12th and 15th and, while a three-putt bogey on the 17th proved costly, he birdied the last to equal the lowest round of the week with a 66 and set the target at six under.
- Copy thank you to European Tour.
