New Zealand professional golfer
Steven Craig Alker
(born 28 July 1971) is a New Zealand
professional golfer
who plays on the
PGA Tour Champions
, where he has won eight times. He won the season-long 2022
Charles Schwab Cup
on the
PGA Tour Champions
.
Early life and professional career
[
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]
Alker was born in
Hamilton, New Zealand
.
Alker turned professional in 1995 and has competed on several
tours
around the world. He has been a member of the
PGA Tour of Australasia
since 1995. He played on the
European Tour
in 1998 and 1999, also competing on Europe's developmental
Challenge Tour
in 1999. In 2000, he won the
Canadian Tour
Order of Merit, before moving to the
United States
to compete on the
Nationwide Tour
in 2002. He was successful enough to graduate to the full
PGA Tour
in 2003, but was unable to retain his card and returned to the development tour from 2004 to 2006. In 2007 and 2008, he went back to Europe to play on the European and Challenge tours. He returned to the Nationwide Tour (now
Web.com Tour
) in 2009.
At the 2014
Cleveland Open
on the Web.com Tour, Alker beat
Dawie van der Walt
on the 11th playoff hole, a tour record for longest playoff.
[1]
He finished 20th in the
Web.com Tour Finals
to earn his PGA Tour card for the 2014?15 season.
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
.
[2]
[3]
In November 2021, Alker won the
TimberTech Championship
on the
PGA Tour Champions
in
Boca Raton, Florida
. With the win, Alker had earned $896,207 in nine senior tournaments after turning 50 years of age in July 2021. This amount was more than he made in his PGA Tour career.
[4]
Alker continued this form into the
2022 season
, recording wins at the
Rapiscan Systems Classic
and the
Insperity Invitational
. He also finished runner-up at the
Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai
and the
ClubCorp Classic
; losing in a playoff on both occasions.
[5]
[6]
In May 2022, Alker won his first senior major championship at the
2022 KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship
at
The Golf Club at Harbor Shores
in
Benton Harbor, Michigan
. Alker shot a final round 63 to win the championship by three strokes. This was his third win in five starts and fourth in 19 as a senior.
[7]
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.
[8]
He also won the
Arnold Palmer Award
for the season-long money title and the
Byron Nelson Award
for the lowest scoring average for the 2022 season.
In November 2023, Alker won the
Charles Schwab Cup Championship
at Phoenix Country Club, defeating
Ernie Els
and
Stephen Ames
by a single stroke. This victory secured second place for Alker in the season-long
Charles Schwab Cup
and a $500,000 annuity.
[9]
Professional wins (19)
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PGA Tour of Australasia wins (3)
[
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]
1
Co-sanctioned by the
Nationwide Tour
PGA Tour of Australasia playoff record (0?1)
Web.com Tour wins (4)
[
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]
1
Co-sanctioned by the
PGA Tour of Australasia
Web.com Tour playoff record (3?1)
Australasian Development Tour wins (1)
[
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]
Canadian Tour wins (2)
[
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]
Other wins (2)
[
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]
PGA Tour Champions wins (8)
[
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]
Legend
|
Senior major championships (1)
|
Charles Schwab Cup playoff events (3)
|
Other PGA Tour Champions (4)
|
PGA Tour Champions playoff record (0?2)
Results in major championships
[
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]
Did not play
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" = tied
NT = No tournament due to the
COVID-19 pandemic
Results in senior major championships
[
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]
Win
Top 10
Did not play
"T" indicates a tie for a place
Team appearances
[
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]
Amateur
Professional
See also
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References
[
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]
- ^
"Alker outlasts van der Walt in 11-hole playoff in Ohio"
.
Fox News
. Sports Network. 5 February 2015
. Retrieved
5 May
2022
.
- ^
"The Open 2016: Colin Montgomerie qualifies for Royal Troon"
.
BBC Sport
. 28 June 2016
. Retrieved
14 July
2016
.
- ^
Herrington, Ryan (23 October 2021).
"An incredible Cinderella story is making Phil Mickelson take a backseat (if for one round) on the PGA Tour Champions"
.
Golf Digest
. Retrieved
23 October
2021
.
- ^
Shedloski, Dave (7 November 2021).
"Steven Alker wins TimberTech Championship, continues outlandish start to senior career"
.
Golf Digest
. Retrieved
10 November
2021
.
- ^
Ferguson, Doug (4 May 2022).
"Steven Alker, the Kiwi journeyman golfer, enjoying his second coming"
.
Gulf News
. Retrieved
5 May
2022
.
- ^
"Steven Alker cashing in on golf's greatest mulligan"
.
USA Today
. Associated Press. 3 May 2022
. Retrieved
5 May
2022
.
- ^
Strege, John (29 May 2022).
"The mastery (and mystery) of Steven Alker continues with his victory in the Senior PGA Championship"
.
Golf Digest
. Retrieved
31 May
2022
.
- ^
Herrington, Ryan (13 November 2022).
"Steven Alker, Padraig Harrington walk away the big winners at the PGA Tour Champions finale"
.
Golf Digest
. Retrieved
14 November
2022
.
- ^
Kelly, Todd (12 November 2023).
"Steven Alker wins 2023 Charles Schwab Cup Championship for seventh PGA Tour Champions win"
.
USA Today
. Retrieved
13 November
2023
.
External links
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† indicates the event was won in a playoff
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