Players to watch
Alker doffs his cap to the fans following victory at the Senior PGA Championship
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Steven Alker New Zealand
Age: 50 Professional wins: 15 Major victories: 0
Something of a journeyman in his younger days, Steven Alker has taken the PGA Tour Champions by storm – topping the world rankings with style this year Words: Tony Dear
“First I saw Arnold Palmer, I’m not sure what year it was, and you twist it and you see Lee Trevino and you see Jack Nicklaus and you see Tom Watson… It’s pretty cool,” he said. At the time of writing, Alker sits comfortably on top of the PGA Champions Tour money list. With a game characterised by accuracy of approach and a steady hand on the greens, he may find the King’s Course very much to his liking.
“It’s just perseverance with a capital ‘P’. I look back and I think, did I really have the game or did I have the attitude?”
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t has been quite a year for Steven Alker, with victories already at the Rapsican Systems Classic, the Insperity Invitational and the Senior PGA Championship plus a handful of top-10 finishes to boot. What is perhaps more surprising, though, is that the New Zealander had a relatively understated professional career before the age of 50. He appeared on PGA, European, Korn Ferry, Australasian and Canadian tours, but without securing regular success. His best result in a Major was tied 19th at The Open Championship of 2012 at Royal Lytham & St Annes. Quizzed about the secrets of his new-found success Alker said: “It’s just perseverance with a capital ‘P’.” “I can’t put my finger on one thing exactly,” he added. “I look back and I go, geez, did I really have the game or did I have the attitude? I think now, I’ve matured and it’s a second wind.” It certainly is. Take that Senior PGA victory, for example. Alker entered the final round four shots adrift of the leader, Stephen Ames, but then rolled in three birdies in the first five holes on the way to an eight-under 63 and victory by three shots. On the back of such finishing ability Alker has found himself rubbing metaphorical shoulders with the greats of the game, a fact that was brought home to him as he examined the trophy after his Senior PGA win at Benton Harbor.
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20/06/2022 20:03
