Alker takes year’s earnings to $7.44m
New Zealand golfer Steve Alker claimed the major prize on the United States seniors tour, taking his year’s earnings past $7.44 million.
Alker finished third at the Charles Schwab Cup Championship in Phoenix, Arizona, yesterday. He shot a final round 68 to be eight shots behind winner Padraig Harrington, of Ireland.
But finishing inside the top five at the seasonending tournament ensured Alker, 51, held on to top the year’s money list and to earn a $1.63m bonus.
Alker’s incredible debut year on the PGA Tour Champions, saw him win four tournaments and claim 19 top-10 finishes in 24 events.
He was only outside the top 25 twice and his consistency earned him financial rewards that had eluded him on other major tours.
Harrington needed to win and have Alker finish outside that top five for Harrington to claim the season-long Charles Schwab Cup in his second season on the PGA Tour Champions.
The 51-year-old Irishman took care of the winning by running away from the field, shooting 6-under 65 in breezy conditions at Phoenix Country Club.
Harrington finished at 27-under 257 to break the PGA Tour Champions 72-hole record of 258 set by Tom Lehman at the 2012 Schwab Cup Championship. The 27-under matches the record set by Jack Nicklaus at the 1990 Kaulig Companies Championship.
Alker trailed Harrington by five shots heading into the final round but the players behind were his only concern in terms of the Schwab Cup.
It got tight on the back nine.
Alex Cejka made an early move, opening eagle-birdie to move ahead of Alker on the front nine.
Alker had his first bogey of the tournament when his tee shot on the par-4 12th landed against the lip of a fairway bunker and he had to punch out to the fairway. He added another on the par-3 13th hole, dropping to 17 under.
That put Lee Janzen a shot behind Alker, with Miguel Angel Jimenez two back and Stephen Ames still within reach at 14 under.
Alker gave himself more of a cushion with a 15-foot birdie putt on the par-4 14th and added another at the short par-4 16th. The Kiwi left a birdie putt on No 18 on the lip to finish at 19-under and claim the Schwab Cup in his second season on the 50-and-over tour.
Cejka shot 65 to finish at 20 under. Janzen (66), Jimenez (66) and Ames (67) tied for fourth at 16 under.
The PGA Tour Champions gave Alker another opportunity in a career that has taken him around the world.
Starting in New Zealand in 1989, Alker played on six tours that received world ranking points, including three seasons on the PGA Tour and two in Europe. His best year was 2014, when he earned $428,849 on what is now the Korn Ferry Tour and reached his highest world ranking at No 191 in 2002.
Alker started his PGA Tour Champions career as a Monday qualifier at the Boeing Classic in August 2021, picking up a top-10 finish that earned him a spot in the following week’s tournament. He followed with four more top 10s to keep playing, earned his way into the postseason and eventually won to secure a full card.
The confidence snowballed into this season, when he won five times while earning more than $5.4m.