Steven Alker

Steven Alker
Steven Alker
	Alker at the 2023 U.S. Senior Open
Personal information
Full name	Steven Craig Alker
Born	28 July 1971 (age 53); 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
Canadian Tour; Order of Merit winner
Canadian Tour; Order of Merit winner	2000
PGA Tour Champions; Charles Schwab Cup winner	2022, 2024
PGA Tour Champions; money list winner	2022, 2024
PGA Tour Champions; Player of the Year	2022, 2024
PGA Tour Champions; Byron Nelson Award	2022, 2024

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

Alker was born in Hamilton, New Zealand.

Professional career

In 1995, Alker turned professional. He 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.

Shortly thereafter, Alker moved to the United States. He competed on the Buy.com Tour, the PGA Tour's developmental 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 PGA Tour's developmental 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]

Senior career

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)

PGA Tour of Australasia wins (3)

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)

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)

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)

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)

1995 Fiji Open
1996 Tahiti Open

PGA Tour Champions wins (8)

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)

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

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	2012	2013	2014	2016
Masters Tournament
U.S. Open		T45	CUT
The Open Championship	T19			CUT
PGA Championship

Tournament	2020	2023
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

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

Win

Top 10

Did not play

"T" indicates a tie for a place

Team appearances

Amateur

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

References

^ "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

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

[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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