It took 30 years, but Alker is now an overnight sensation
By Jeff Babineau
NAPLES, Fla. – As top dogs go, Steven Alker cuts a rather unassuming figure as some of the greats in the game gather to tee it up at Tiburon Golf Club along Florida’s gulf coast. Just minutes from his Thursday afternoon pro-am time at the Chubb Classic presented by SERVPRO, Alker stood in the center of the practice green working on his putting, almost as if he were standing in some personal bubble. He worked pretty much in complete anonymity.
His drives do not receive the “Mashed Potatoes!” screams that those of John Daly might, and he doesn’t make the females in the gallery swoon quite like Fred Couples does. On the heels of a pedestrian career as he worked his way to 50 – he did count four victories on the Korn Ferry Tour – Alker suddenly has become a big deal among the over-50 set.
Really, what’s not to like? His game off the tee features some nice pop, his iron play is strong, and he has proven himself to be a quality putter. Oh, and now that he’s 52, the man from New Zealand has discovered the most magical formula of all: When he gets into the hunt to win, he knows how to close.
The Chubb gets underway on Friday, with Alker heading off at Tiburon’s Black Course at 9:38 a.m., alongside major winners Ernie Els and David Toms.
Alker is beginning only his second full season on PGA TOUR Champions after crashing the party in the autumn of 2021. He stepped out as a Monday qualifier at the late-season Boeing Classic that year, tied for seventh, started stringing together top-10 finishes to earn more starts – five consecutive, at one point – and then broke through to win the TimberTech Championship across the state in Boca Raton.
Funny thing, Alker hasn’t stopped winning. And now that he is filled with the confidence that he can play with anyone, and accepts that he not only belongs here, but that he can be a dominant force – Alker has become one dangerous foe to try to defeat.
In 54 starts on PGA TOUR Champions, Alker has now won eight times, been runner-up 10 more, and been third on seven other occasions. He won the last event of 2023 (Charles Schwab Cup Championship) and the first event of 2024 (Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai). Alker sets out into his 30th season of professional golf realizing that it only took him 28 or so years to be an overnight sensation.
“Obviously, the wins build confidence, so I’m just feeling good about my game,” Alker said. “I’ve worked on my game and my swing, and everything is good, kind of where I want it.”
Alker’s steady play went under the radar for a spell, but it’s a well-kept secret no longer. Every golfer trying to beat him has taken notice, that’s certain. All of them. When Alker won the season opener in Hawaii, Bernhard Langer, the Champions’ all-time leader in victories (46), stood off the back of the 18th green waiting for him.
“Yeah, Steve Alker is no doubt an outlier,” said Ireland’s Padraig Harrington, who will be inducted in the World Golf Hall of Fame this summer. “Most people, when they come to the Champions Tour, they go back to who they were on the main tour.
“... Steve obviously was a good player when he played the main tour, but he didn’t have the firepower. He’s probably the same exact player that he was 20 years ago. Yeah, he’s done incredibly well. We get that story every couple of years, don’t we? And the great thing for Steve is he hasn’t done it one year, he’s now into his third year. That’s very impressive that he kept going with it.”
This is Alker’s third trip to the Chubb. A year ago, he was in contention on Sunday, but faded to T8 with a 71 on Sunday. That was on the heels of a T5 in his tournament debut in 2022.
His heart was heavy when he was in Naples a year ago after the sudden passing of his caddie, Sam Workman, who had worked for him just weeks earlier in Hawaii. It took Alker some time to get rolling last season, but he did win in Houston (Insperity Invitational), the city where Workman had lived. Alker would add the Charles Schwab Championship near home in Arizona to finish his season, but overall, it lacked the flash he had shown in 2022, when he won four times, including his first major.
Alker was PGA TOUR Champions Player of the Year in 2022, but those honors went to Stricker (six wins, three majors) last season. With Alker off to a hot start, it sets up 2024 as a nice showdown between the two. And there are others – Harrington, Ernie Els, Stephen Ames and others – who look forward to getting into that mix.
“He's going to be tough to beat,” Stricker said of Alker. “Played with him there in Hawai'I (at Mitsubishi). He played great. He hit the shots, made the putts when he had to, and neither one of us (contenders Stricker and Harrison Frazer) -- you know, I guess we gave him a little run for a little while, but he pulled away there at the end.
“He's in shape, which means a lot out here. He's got a good game and he putts it well. So pull all that together out here, that's going to be a tough guy to beat.”
Stricker was asked if it’s healthy for a good player like himself to be pushed.
“Oh, yeah, hopefully I'm doing the same to him,” Stricker said, “and there are other players out here that play really well, and so it's just not the one guy.
“But he's definitely the guy I think that gets all of our attention, knowing that he's probably going to be up there to compete to try to win the tournament.”
At Chubb, Alker will be trying to become the 10th player in PGA TOUR champions history to win in three consecutive starts, the first since ... well, lo and behold, Stricker did it in 2022-23. And if that comes to fruition at Chubb, maybe more folks will take notice of the extraordinary work of Steven Alker.
“I guess I’m world famous in New Zealand,” he said with a modest smile.
