Steven Alker
New Zealand professional golfer (born 1971)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Steven Craig Alker (born 28 July 1971) is a New Zealand professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour Champions, where he has won 10 times. He won the season-long 2022 Charles Schwab Cup on the PGA Tour Champions.
| Steven Alker | |
|---|---|
Alker at the 2023 U.S. Senior Open | |
| Personal information | |
| Full name | Steven Craig Alker |
| Born | 28 July 1971 |
| 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 | PGA Tour Champions |
| Former tours | PGA Tour European Tour PGA Tour of Australasia Korn Ferry Tour Canadian Tour |
| Professional wins | 22 |
| Number of wins by tour | |
| PGA Tour of Australasia | 3 |
| Korn Ferry Tour | 4 |
| PGA Tour Champions | 10 |
| 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 | |
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]
In March 2025, Alker won the Cologuard Classic.[10]
Professional wins (22)
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 (10)
| Legend |
|---|
| Senior major championships (1) |
| Charles Schwab Cup playoff events (4) |
| Other PGA Tour Champions (5) |
| 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 |
| 9 | 9 Mar 2025 | Cologuard Classic | −12 (69-66-66=201) | Playoff | Jason Caron |
| 10 | 26 Oct 2025 | Simmons Bank Championship | −20 (61-66-69=196) | 7 strokes | Richard Green, Tag Ridings |
PGA Tour Champions playoff record (1–3)
| 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 |
| 3 | 2025 | Cologuard Classic | Jason Caron |
Won with birdie on first extra hole |
| 4 | 2025 | Kaulig Companies Championship | Miguel Ángel Jiménez |
Lost to birdie on second 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 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | |||||||||
| U.S. Open | T45 | CUT | |||||||
| The Open Championship | T19 | CUT | |||||||
| PGA Championship |
| Tournament | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | |||||
| PGA Championship | CUT | ||||
| U.S. Open | |||||
| The Open Championship | NT |
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" = tied
NT = No tournament due to the COVID-19 pandemic
Results in senior major championships
Results not in chronological order
| Tournament | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Tradition | T3 | T28 | 2 | 4 |
| Senior PGA Championship | 1 | T5 | T14 | |
| Senior Players Championship | T3 | T16 | T7 | 2 |
| U.S. Senior Open | T11 | T6 | T12 | 7 |
| Senior British Open Championship | T3 | T11 | T5 | 7 |
"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