Alker didnt come into it feeling assured of anything other than the fact he wouldnt have to Monday qualify. When he left the course on Sunday, his 9-under par score wasnt in the top-10. Monday I would have loved to have won this event and then really made it probably a two-man race with Bernhard and I. He overtook Petrovic with a 12-foot birdie putton No. I had reeled off a nice stretch. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. By the time they got to Phoenix, Alker had a commanding lead in the points race. He's been knocking on the door and in the top-10 each and every week. PHOENIX To think it all started at a Monday qualifier 15 months ago. He had turned 50 on July 28, and this was his first chance to give it a go. Solomon: DeMeco Ryans the right coach at the right time, 3 pressing questions facing new Astros GM Dana Brown, Jabari Smith Jr. growing up in NBA with an assist from his father, Poor parent behavior is driving high school sports refs away. He tied for seventh, which earned him a spot in The Ally Challenge the following week for being in the top 10. Alker has competed on several tours around the world. Its just all coming together. It hasnt sunk in. Alker played the par 5s in 9 under over the three rounds. The history in the wake of his senior debut is ancient and now largely forgotten, though Stephen Ames remembers. Petrovic struggled to a 74 after an early birdie had staked him to a two-stroke lead and ended up five back at 212. Let me say just as consistent and as quick as weve done it. He mentioned the other part, too his father. I thought, well, if I can come out and do many some Mondays, Tuesdays, do some events and try to qualify and get some events under my belt, that would be great, he said. Prior to making eagle on the par-5 15th hole, he birdied the par-5 13th. Alkers completed 72 holes in 16-under par 268. Its a second car and were so grateful for that. Ill ask his caddie to get a pics for you. Give me a week or two Im sort of in tournament mode. How did a mild-mannered native of Hamilton, New Zealand, go from Korn Ferry Tour also-ran to Champions Tour frontrunner? I watched Steven play on the European Tour, Korn Ferry Tour, and all of the sudden out here, wow, the runner-up Ames said. He played on the European Tour in 1998 and 1999, also competing on Europe's developmental Challenge Tour in 1999. Not bad for someone who had to wait until he turned 50 to get a tee time on the second-chance tour. The victory came at the second playoff event, the TimberTech Championship. Alker, 50, came from four shots down at the start of the final round, shot an eight-under 63 at Harbor Shores in Benton Harbor, Mich., and won the KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship by three, his third win in his last five starts and his fourth in 19 starts as a senior. From there, he kept getting into more Champions events because he kept stacking up top-10s. I just like to see a big stop sign. Steven Alker plays his tee shot on the second hole during the final round of the Insperity Invitational golf tournament, Sunday, May 1, 2022, in The Woodlands, TX. I would have loved to have won this event and then really made it probably a two-man race with Bernhard and I, Furyk said. He played on the European Tour in 1998 and 1999, also competing on Europe's developmental Challenge Tour in 1999. Jason Dufner whats in the bag accurate as of the 2023 WM Phoenix Open. Alker is rubbing shoulders with some huge names again. I can redo my 12-year-old kitchen, too. Hes pretty easygoing. This moment is the culmination of a rapid-fire success rate for Alker since joining the senior circuit. THE WOODLANDS Before lightning caused more than a two-hour suspension of play at the Insperity Invitational on Sunday, Steven Alker, Steve Stricker and Brandt Jobe were all battling for the lead. David Toms plays a shot from a bunker on the first hole during the final round of the Insperity Invitational golf tournament, Sunday, May 1, 2022, in The Woodlands, TX. In 2000, he won the Canadian Tour Order of Merit, before moving to the United States to compete on the Nationwide Tour in 2002. Copyright 2023 PGA TOUR, Inc. All rights reserved. Workman estimates he has been on the bag for more than 400 tournaments, for pros such as Brad Elder, Jon Curran, Tag Ridings and AJ McInerney. Steven Craig Alker (born 28 July 1971) is a professional golfer from New Zealand. Turns out, Alkers 50th birthday July 28, 2021 was the big break he had spent half his life in search of. 15. Masters: Wanna play Augusta National? After opening with a solid 67, a second-round 73 left him well outside the top 10. In fact, Workman said he still had the flag from the 18th hole at the TimberTech Championship in Boca Raton, Florida, on him as he and Alker wrapped up practice on Tuesday in Phoenix in preparation for the final event of the 2020-21 PGA TOUR Champions elongated super season, the Charles Schwab Cup Championship. opened up. I started hitting some nice shots and driving it better, Alker said. In 2021, 18 days after he turned 50 which made him eligible for the PGA Tour Champions, Alker flew to Seattle looking for an outside shot at getting into the Boeing He is from . He was still on the Korn Ferry Tour when he was 49 years of age. I follow absolutely zero Champions Tour coverage so will forgive myself for asking who?! That said OP, you might have more luck with this over in t Brandt Jobe tees off on the fifth hole during the final round of the Insperity Invitational golf tournament, Sunday, May 1, 2022, in The Woodlands, TX. Fans walk past a sign warning of lightning after play was suspended during the final round of the Insperity Invitational golf tournament, Sunday, May 1, 2022, in The Woodlands, TX. Its all been life-changing in terms of security, a place to play and financially, that comes with it. Then I got my roll going.. A final-round 6-under-par 66 left Alker 18 under for the tournament, giving him the first-place trophy as well as $345,000 in prize money. On the day he turned 50 last summer, Steven Alker was barely clinging to the label of journeyman golfer. We were just chatting and he says, Man, youve been playing great. New Level PF-2 irons. It was just kind of the next step.. Langer leads Furyk by 337,727 points entering next weeks Charles Schwab Cup Championship in Phoenix. He overtook Petrovic with a 12-foot birdie Just perseverance, a euphoric Alker said. Driver: Srixon ZX5 Mk II (9.5 Carl Yuan whats in the bag accurate as of the Farmers Insurance Open. Jimenez gave himself a chance with three consecutive birdies on the back nine to get within a shot of the lead. Its a home game this week (Alker has made his permanent home in Phoenix for the past 12 years), lot of friends and family will be here. Yainer Diaz becomes first Astros hitter to violate new MLB rules. Now, the man from Down Under who lives in the Grand Canyon State has a new favorite place. Hes not one whos going to spend eight hours on the range just to say hes practicing. Even Harringtons blistering weekend scores of 62 and 65 had no bearing on the steady Alker. Cameron Beckman, Shane Bertsch and Woody Austin are tied for 10th at 4 under. The Boeing Classic begins on Friday; Alker, who has made his permanent home in Arizona since 2010, isnt even flying to the Seattle area until Wednesday. It actually got a bit better today. Miguel Angel Jimenez hits his tee shot on the seventh hole during the final round of the Insperity Invitational golf tournament, Sunday, May 1, 2022, in The Woodlands, TX. He made 86 PGA Tour starts without a top 10 and missed the cut in 47 of them. He has caddied in an estimated 400-plus events, he said in 2021, for pros including Tag Ridings, Jon Curran, AJ McInerney and Brad Elder. Lot of things, Alker said, attempting to explain his meteoric rise. Which always brought up the familiar question: When are you going to stop chasing the dream? Steven Alker's final-round 68 was enough to win by two and claim his first career PGA Tour Champions title. I just tried to convey that this is who you are now. Amazing. Alker won four times on the Korn Ferry Tour, his last victory coming in 2014, and three times on the PGA Tour of Australasia. Stricker, the 2021 Bridgestone Senior Players Championship champion, carded a 68 Saturday. Im sort of in tournament mode. He struggled on the front nine Sunday, playing his first six holes in one-over. Your email address will not be published. After qualifying for the three-event playoff in just seven starts, Alker needed a strong showing at the opener, the Dominion Energy Charity Classic two weeks ago, and his T-4 enabled him to advance to the TimberTech Championship. It's fantastic, great to see. He Monday-qualified for his first event on the 50-and-older circuit in late August and rattled off six consecutive top-10 finishes to keep earning a spot in the next tournament. I love my 5-wood. The unexpected, inexplicable rise of Steven Alker from PGA Tour Champions outsider to a force in senior golf was completed Sunday in Boca Raton, Fla., when the 50-year-old New Zealand native won the TimberTech Championship by two strokes over reigning U.S. Senior Open champion Jim Furyk and fast-closing Miguel Angel Jimenez. In 2016, Alker played in The Open Championship after tying for second place in the Final Qualifying event held at the Royal Cinque Ports Golf Club. I think theres gonna be many more, Workman said. But that will change. PGA Tour of Australasia playoff record (01), 1Co-sanctioned by the PGA Tour of Australasia. Some of it is still sinking in. 9. It has been pretty neat.. I was playing well and trending and thats kind of what happens with my game, Alker said. This run that were on is phenomenal. You have a bunch of top-10s and you get in the thick of it and just try to get a W. Not that the top-10s aren't any good, it's just that you get that win, and just glad I got one today.. With the win, Alker had earned $896,207 in nine senior tournaments after turning 50 years of age in July 2021. The victory also moves him atop the Charles Schwab Cup standings. It was huge, Alker said. He then walked to the side of the green, closed his eyes and started talking to no one but himself. Kevin Sutherland plays a shot from a bunker on the first hole during the final round of the Insperity Invitational golf tournament, Sunday, May 1, 2022, in The Woodlands, TX. Hes probably as physically fit now as he was 20 years ago, so he hasnt gone backwards. My short game and puttings come around. Biding his time on the Korn Ferry Tour until he turned 50 on July 28, doing the hard yards as he put it, Alker had been a frequent visitor to Champions Tour leader boards. The 2021 PGA Champions Tour money list is headed by 64-year-old German Bernhard Langer who has amassed almost $4m. He did win four times, but missed the cut in nearly half those starts. Langer can get career win No. You could see it every week at the end of the Korn Ferry year he was getting a little more excited and looking forward to the move and he just looks comfortable.. Alker shot a 4-under 68 to finish at 17-under 199 and end a seven-year winless drought. Moreover, in his last five starts, he has finished first, tied for second, first, tied for third and first. Alker will also collect $1 million in bonus money for winning the Schwab Cup series title, money that will be paid out as a lump sum deposit into a Schwab brokerage account. Its just, you know, Ive played everywhere, Ive played everywhere and I think that kind of helped today in a way just playing the PGA Tour and Australasia and Asia and Korn Ferry, he said. In 2021, 18 days after he turned 50 which made him eligible for the PGA Tour Champions, Alker flew to Seattle looking for an outside shot at getting into the Boeing Classic. He has run a municipal course in his native Texas. Steven Alker lifts the champions' trophy after winning the Insperity Invitational golf tournament, Sunday, May 1, 2022, in The Woodlands, TX. Some distances came back. But he made four consecutive pars before a birdie at the 18thgave the Spaniard a share of second place. I hadnt won for seven years. He showed this weekend that his game is sharp, even though at times he experienced fatigue. Check out Steven Alker's yearly results, profile information, lifetime earnings, and more. He returned to the Nationwide Tour (now Web.com Tour) in 2009. But when you have that accent, pretty much everything sounds, well, neat. But Im just most proud of shooting low scores. Seven years or 2,907 days. USE OF AND/OR REGISTRATION ON ANY PORTION OF THIS SITE CONSTITUTES ACCEPTANCE OF OURVISITOR AGREEMENT(UPDATED 1/6/23),PRIVACY AND COOKIES NOTICE(UPDATED 1/4/23) ANDCALIFORNIA PRIVACY NOTICE. Its really cool. I think right now, I've matured and it's a second wind. On Aug. 15, 2021, Alker was arriving in the Seattle area in order to attempt to Monday qualify for the Boeing Classic. Alker and Workman said it was Australian caddie and mutual friend Tony Lingard who put them together at the start of the 2019 Korn Ferry Tour season. And while Alker will always remember that long putt, Furyk will look back on No. Its a home game this week (Alker has made his permanent home in Phoenix for the past 12 years), lot of friends and family will be here. Miguel Angel Jimenez reacts after making eagle on the first hole during the final round of the Insperity Invitational golf tournament, Sunday, May 1, 2022, in The Woodlands, TX. Meanwhile, Alker got his much-waited victory. According to Harrington, Alker grinding on the Korn Ferry Tour into his late 40s is what most likely set the table for his amazing run now. The Korn Ferry trademark is also a registered trademark, and is used in the Korn Ferry Tour logo with permission. 16 when he missed an 8-foot birdie putt that would have pulled him back into a tie with Alker and put the pressure on the rookie for the final two holes. His game was pretty tidy from the get-go, too. His 18-under 198 total is the lowest PGA Tour Champions tournament score at The Woodlands Country Club Tournament Course. Alex Cejka went 6 under for his final round to finish 11 under for the tournament, finishing fourth. Heres what you need to know. Maybe its a Kiwi thing. The golfers who put on the biggest charge Sunday were too far behind entering the round to factor in the championship. At 51 years old, Steven Alker height Kind of learned where Im at, which was good. Embrace it and enjoy it.. Stop all your thoughts.. It's just that you get that win, and just glad I hung on today.. He just relishes being in the hunt. And he was saying grab it by the (horns) and go for it. Life has changed a lot in the last year, said Alker, who grew up playing tennis and cricket along with golf. But Alker regrouped, and another 67 pushed him into a tie for seventh and an automatic spot in the Ally Challenge. Theres not a lot of guys at 49 who could do that.. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. He went on to record six consecutive top-10s. I can hit all sorts of different shots with it thats the great thing.. Next week well sit down and think about what weve done and the win and it will sink in a bit more then., Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. He did, and about three weeks after hitting half a hundred he was teeing it up for the first time in the 50 and older circuit. 15 on the Old Course at Broken Sound Sunday to take a one shot lead over Jim Furyk in the TimberTech Championship. He won the season-long 2022 Charles Schwab Cup on the PGA Tour Champions. With nine birdies, Alker fired a final-round, 8-under 63, the low round of the week, to win by three shots over Stephen Ames and six over Bernhard Langer. It doesnt matter what the struggle was. Sam Workman, 54, has been in the golf business his entire life. That gave him a two-stroke victory over Furyk and Miguel Angel Jimenez. The top three finishers Alker, Stricker and Jobe came into the final 18 holes atop the leader board at 12 under. Ive been having chances. Alker earned this victory and a spot on next years PGA Tour Champions through exceptional play. Sam has a great personality, Alker said. The struggle led to this. Their first event was The Bahamas Great Exuma Classic at Sandals Emerald Bay and Alker finished T4, his best Korn Ferry Tour result since 2014. He never relinquished the lead although Furyk caught him for three holes until that clutch putt on No. Workman said when he gets back to Texas after this weeks finale he has a friend in Austin lined up to frame the flag. Alker and Els each shot a 69 Saturday. Next week well sit down and think about what weve done and the win and it will sink in a bit more then.. In November 2022, Alker finished third at the Charles Schwab Cup Championship which secured him first place in the season-long Charles Schwab Cup and the $1,000,000 first prize. He said that partially explained his emotional state in the video below. A birdie on the 16th was his 21st of the week. indicates the event was won in a playoff, Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai, 2006 European Tour Qualifying School graduates, List of golfers with most Web.com Tour wins, "Alker outlasts van der Walt in 11-hole playoff in Ohio", "The Open 2016: Colin Montgomerie qualifies for Royal Troon", "An incredible Cinderella story is making Phil Mickelson take a backseat (if for one round) on the PGA Tour Champions", "Steven Alker wins TimberTech Championship, continues outlandish start to senior career", "Steven Alker, the Kiwi journeyman golfer, enjoying his second coming", "Steven Alker cashing in on golf's greatest mulligan", "The mastery (and mystery) of Steven Alker continues with his victory in the Senior PGA Championship", "Steven Alker, Padraig Harrington walk away the big winners at the PGA Tour Champions finale", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Steven_Alker&oldid=1122863477, Winners of senior major golf championships, Sportspeople from the Phoenix metropolitan area, Short description is different from Wikidata, Use New Zealand English from September 2013, All Wikipedia articles written in New Zealand English, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 20 November 2022, at 07:00. 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