Steven Alker

Last updated

Steven Alker
Steven Alker at the 2023 U.S. Senior Open.jpg
Alker at the 2023 U.S. Senior Open
Personal information
Full nameSteven Craig Alker
Born (1971-07-28) 28 July 1971 (age 53)
Hamilton, New Zealand
Height1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Weight65 kg (143 lb; 10.2 st)
Sporting nationalityFlag of New Zealand.svg  New Zealand
ResidenceHamilton, New Zealand;
Fountain Hills, Arizona, U.S.
Spouse
Tanya
​
(m. 2003)​
Children2
Career
Turned professional1995
Current tour(s) PGA Tour Champions
Former tour(s) PGA Tour
European Tour
PGA Tour of Australasia
Korn Ferry Tour
Professional wins19
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour of Australasia3
Korn Ferry Tour4
PGA Tour Champions8
European Senior Tour1
Other5
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
Canadian Tour
Order of Merit winner 		2000
PGA Tour Champions
Charles Schwab Cup winner 		2022
PGA Tour Champions
money list winner 		2022
PGA Tour Champions
Player of the Year 		2022
PGA Tour Champions
Byron Nelson Award 		2022

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.

Contents

Early life and professional career

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)

PGA Tour of Australasia wins (3)

No.DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin of
victory		Runner(s)-up
120 Oct 1996 Foodlink Queensland Open −13 (67-69-67-72=275)1 stroke Flag of Australia (converted).svg Greg Chalmers
29 Feb 1997 Ford South Australian Open −15 (71-67-70-65=273)1 stroke Flag of Australia (converted).svg Wayne Grady
38 Mar 2009 HSBC New Zealand PGA Championship 1−15 (69-70-67-67=273)2 strokes Flag of New Zealand.svg Josh Geary, Flag of New Zealand.svg David Smail

1Co-sanctioned by the Nationwide Tour

PGA Tour of Australasia playoff record (0–1)

No.YearTournamentOpponentResult
1 1997 Canon Challenge Flag of Australia (converted).svg Peter Senior Lost to birdie on fourth extra hole

Web.com Tour wins (4)

No.DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin of
victory		Runner(s)-up
114 Apr 2002 Louisiana Open −24 (65-66-69-64=264)Playoff Flag of the United States.svg Mike Heinen
28 Mar 2009 HSBC New Zealand PGA Championship 1−15 (69-70-67-67=273)2 strokes Flag of New Zealand.svg Josh Geary, Flag of New Zealand.svg David Smail
314 Jul 2013 Utah Championship −22 (71-64-61-66=262)Playoff Flag of Australia (converted).svg Ashley Hall
48 Jun 2014 Cleveland Open −14 (70-70-65-65=270)Playoff Flag of South Africa.svg Dawie van der Walt

1Co-sanctioned by the PGA Tour of Australasia

Web.com Tour playoff record (3–1)

No.YearTournamentOpponentResult
1 2002 Louisiana Open Flag of the United States.svg Mike Heinen Won with par on second extra hole
2 2013 Utah Championship Flag of Australia (converted).svg Ashley Hall Won with par on first extra hole
3 2014 Cleveland Open Flag of South Africa.svg Dawie van der Walt Won with birdie on eleventh extra hole
42014 Albertsons Boise Open Flag of the United States.svg Steve Wheatcroft Lost to birdie on second extra hole

Australasian Development Tour wins (1)

No.DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin of
victory		Runner-up
121 Oct 2001 Toyota Southern Classic −12 (66-70-66-66=268)Playoff Flag of Australia (converted).svg Gavin Coles

Canadian Tour wins (2)

No.DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin of
victory		Runner(s)-up
127 Aug 2000 McDonald's PEI Challenge −10 (71-70-66-71=278)3 strokes Flag of the United States.svg Ken Duke, Flag of the United States.svg Brian Unk
217 Sep 2000 Bayer Championship −22 (65-69-62-66=262)5 strokes Flag of the United States.svg Arron Oberholser

Other wins (2)

PGA Tour Champions wins (8)

Legend
Senior major championships (1)
Charles Schwab Cup playoff events (3)
Other PGA Tour Champions (4)
No.DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin of
victory		Runner(s)-up
17 Nov 2021 TimberTech Championship −17 (68-63-68=199)2 strokes Flag of the United States.svg Jim Furyk, Flag of Spain.svg Miguel Ángel Jiménez
23 Apr 2022 Rapiscan Systems Classic −18 (71-62-65=198)6 strokes Flag of Germany.svg Alex Čejka, Flag of Ireland.svg Pádraig Harrington
31 May 2022 Insperity Invitational −18 (67-65-66=198)4 strokes Flag of the United States.svg Brandt Jobe, Flag of the United States.svg Steve Stricker
429 May 2022 KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship −16 (64-72-69-63=268)3 strokes Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Stephen Ames
523 Oct 2022 Dominion Energy Charity Classic −14 (69-65-68=202)1 stroke Flag of South Korea.svg K. J. Choi
630 Apr 2023 Insperity Invitational (2)−15 (66-69-66=201)4 strokes Flag of the United States.svg Steve Stricker
712 Nov 2023 Charles Schwab Cup Championship −18 (67-64-65-70=266)1 stroke Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Stephen Ames, Flag of South Africa.svg Ernie Els
820 Jan 2024 Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai −25 (65-63-63=191)4 strokes Flag of the United States.svg Harrison Frazar

PGA Tour Champions playoff record (0–2)

No.YearTournamentOpponent(s)Result
1 2022 Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai Flag of Spain.svg Miguel Ángel Jiménez Lost to par on second extra hole
22022 ClubCorp Classic Flag of the United States.svg Scott Parel, Flag of the United States.svg Gene Sauers Parel won with par on first extra hole

Results in major championships

Tournament19981999
Masters Tournament
U.S. Open
The Open Championship CUT
PGA Championship
Tournament2000200120022003200420052006200720082009
Masters Tournament
U.S. Open
The Open Championship CUT
PGA Championship
Tournament201020112012201320142015201620172018
Masters Tournament
U.S. Open T45CUT
The Open Championship T19CUT
PGA Championship
Tournament20192020202120222023
Masters Tournament
PGA Championship CUT
U.S. Open
The Open Championship NT
  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

Tournament202220232024
The Tradition T3T282
Senior PGA Championship 1T5
U.S. Senior Open T11T6T12
Senior Players Championship T3T16T7
Senior British Open Championship T3T11T5
  Win
  Top 10
  Did not play

"T" indicates a tie for a place

Team appearances

Amateur

Professional

See also

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References

  1. ↑ "Alker outlasts van der Walt in 11-hole playoff in Ohio". Fox News. Sports Network. 5 February 2015. Retrieved 5 May 2022.
  2. ↑ "The Open 2016: Colin Montgomerie qualifies for Royal Troon". BBC Sport. 28 June 2016. Retrieved 14 July 2016.
  3. ↑ 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.
  4. ↑ Shedloski, Dave (7 November 2021). "Steven Alker wins TimberTech Championship, continues outlandish start to senior career". Golf Digest. Retrieved 10 November 2021.
  5. ↑ Ferguson, Doug (4 May 2022). "Steven Alker, the Kiwi journeyman golfer, enjoying his second coming". Gulf News. Retrieved 5 May 2022.
  6. ↑ "Steven Alker cashing in on golf's greatest mulligan". USA Today. Associated Press. 3 May 2022. Retrieved 5 May 2022.
  7. ↑ 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.
  8. ↑ 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.
  9. ↑ 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.
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