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.
| Steven Alker | |
|---|---|
 Alker at the 2023 U.S. Senior Open | |
| Personal information | |
| Full name | Steven Craig Alker |
| Born | 28 July 1971 Hamilton, New Zealand |
| Height | 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) |
| Weight | 65 kg (143 lb; 10.2 st) |
| Sporting nationality |  New Zealand |
| Residence | Hamilton, New Zealand; Fountain Hills, Arizona, U.S. |
| Spouse |
Tanya (m. 2003) |
| Children | 2 |
| Career | |
| Turned professional | 1995 |
| Current tour(s) | PGA Tour Champions |
| Former tour(s) | PGA Tour European Tour PGA Tour of Australasia Korn Ferry Tour |
| Professional wins | 20 |
| Number of wins by tour | |
| PGA Tour of Australasia | 3 |
| Korn Ferry Tour | 4 |
| PGA Tour Champions | 8 |
| European Senior Tour | 2 |
| Other | 5 |
| Best results in major championships | |
| Masters Tournament | DNP |
| PGA Championship | CUT: 2023 |
| U.S. Open | T45: 2013 |
| The Open Championship | T19: 2012 |
| Achievements and awards | |
Early life and professional career
editAlker 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 (20)
editPGA Tour of Australasia wins (3)
edit| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory |
Runner(s)-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 20 Oct 1996 | Foodlink Queensland Open | −13 (67-69-67-72=275) | 1 stroke |  Greg Chalmers
|
| 2 | 9 Feb 1997 | Ford South Australian Open | −15 (71-67-70-65=273) | 1 stroke | Wayne Grady
|
| 3 | 8 Mar 2009 | HSBC New Zealand PGA Championship1 | −15 (69-70-67-67=273) | 2 strokes | Josh Geary, David Smail
|
1Co-sanctioned by the Nationwide Tour
PGA Tour of Australasia playoff record (0–1)
| No. | Year | Tournament | Opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1997 | Canon Challenge | Peter Senior
|
Lost to birdie on fourth extra hole |
Web.com Tour wins (4)
edit| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory |
Runner(s)-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 14 Apr 2002 | Louisiana Open | −24 (65-66-69-64=264) | Playoff |  Mike Heinen
|
| 2 | 8 Mar 2009 | HSBC New Zealand PGA Championship1 | −15 (69-70-67-67=273) | 2 strokes | Josh Geary, David Smail
|
| 3 | 14 Jul 2013 | Utah Championship | −22 (71-64-61-66=262) | Playoff | Ashley Hall
|
| 4 | 8 Jun 2014 | Cleveland Open | −14 (70-70-65-65=270) | Playoff |  Dawie van der Walt
|
1Co-sanctioned by the PGA Tour of Australasia
Web.com Tour playoff record (3–1)
| No. | Year | Tournament | Opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2002 | Louisiana Open | Mike Heinen
|
Won with par on second extra hole |
| 2 | 2013 | Utah Championship | Ashley Hall
|
Won with par on first extra hole |
| 3 | 2014 | Cleveland Open | Dawie van der Walt
|
Won with birdie on eleventh extra hole |
| 4 | 2014 | Albertsons Boise Open | Steve Wheatcroft
|
Lost to birdie on second extra hole |
Australasian Development Tour wins (1)
edit| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory |
Runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 21 Oct 2001 | Toyota Southern Classic | −12 (66-70-66-66=268) | Playoff | Gavin Coles
|
Canadian Tour wins (2)
edit| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory |
Runner(s)-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 27 Aug 2000 | McDonald's PEI Challenge | −10 (71-70-66-71=278) | 3 strokes | Ken Duke, Brian Unk
|
| 2 | 17 Sep 2000 | Bayer Championship | −22 (65-69-62-66=262) | 5 strokes | Arron Oberholser
|
Other wins (2)
edit- 1995 Fiji Open
- 1996 Tahiti Open
PGA Tour Champions wins (8)
edit| Legend |
|---|
| Senior major championships (1) |
| Charles Schwab Cup playoff events (3) |
| Other PGA Tour Champions (4) |
| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory |
Runner(s)-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7 Nov 2021 | TimberTech Championship | −17 (68-63-68=199) | 2 strokes | Jim Furyk,  Miguel Ángel Jiménez
|
| 2 | 3 Apr 2022 | Rapiscan Systems Classic | −18 (71-62-65=198) | 6 strokes |  Alex Čejka,  Pádraig Harrington
|
| 3 | 1 May 2022 | Insperity Invitational | −18 (67-65-66=198) | 4 strokes | Brandt Jobe, Steve Stricker
|
| 4 | 29 May 2022 | KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship | −16 (64-72-69-63=268) | 3 strokes |  Stephen Ames
|
| 5 | 23 Oct 2022 | Dominion Energy Charity Classic | −14 (69-65-68=202) | 1 stroke |  K. J. Choi
|
| 6 | 30 Apr 2023 | Insperity Invitational (2) | −15 (66-69-66=201) | 4 strokes | Steve Stricker
|
| 7 | 12 Nov 2023 | Charles Schwab Cup Championship | −18 (67-64-65-70=266) | 1 stroke | Stephen Ames, Ernie Els
|
| 8 | 20 Jan 2024 | Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai | −25 (65-63-63=191) | 4 strokes | Harrison Frazar
|
PGA Tour Champions playoff record (0–2)
| No. | Year | Tournament | Opponent(s) | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2022 | Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai | Miguel Ángel Jiménez
|
Lost to par on second extra hole |
| 2 | 2022 | ClubCorp Classic | Scott Parel, Gene Sauers
|
Parel won with par on first extra hole |
European Senior Tour wins (2)
edit| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory |
Runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 29 May 2022 | KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship | −16 (64-72-69-63=268) | 3 strokes | Stephen Ames
|
| 2 | 17 Nov 2024 | WCM Legends Mexico Open | −17 (66-67-66=199) | 1 stroke | James Kingston
|
Results in major championships
edit| Tournament | 1998 | 1999 |
|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | ||
| U.S. Open | ||
| The Open Championship | CUT | |
| PGA Championship |
| Tournament | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | ||||||||||
| U.S. Open | ||||||||||
| The Open Championship | CUT | |||||||||
| PGA Championship |
| Tournament | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | |||||||||
| U.S. Open | T45 | CUT | |||||||
| The Open Championship | T19 | CUT | |||||||
| PGA Championship |
| Tournament | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | |||||
| PGA Championship | CUT | ||||
| U.S. Open | |||||
| The Open Championship | NT |
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" = tied
NT = No tournament due to the COVID-19 pandemic
Results in senior major championships
edit| Tournament | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Tradition | T3 | T28 | 2 |
| Senior PGA Championship | 1 | T5 | |
| U.S. Senior Open | T11 | T6 | T12 |
| Senior Players Championship | T3 | T16 | T7 |
| Senior British Open Championship | T3 | T11 | T5 |
"T" indicates a tie for a place
Team appearances
editAmateur
- Eisenhower Trophy (representing New Zealand): 1990, 1994
- Nomura Cup (representing New Zealand): 1991, 1993
- Sloan Morpeth Trophy (representing New Zealand): 1990, 1991, 1992 (winners)
Professional
- Dunhill Cup (representing New Zealand): 1997
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "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
edit- Steven Alker at the PGA Tour of Australasia official site
- Steven Alker at the PGA Tour official site
- Steven Alker at the European Tour official site
- Steven Alker at the Official World Golf Ranking official site