Tag: Steve Alker

Scottie Scheffler, Lydia Ko and Steven Alker named 2022 Players of the Year by Golf Writers Association of America

All three players will be honored at the 49th annual ISPS Handa/GWAA Awards Dinner on April 5 in Augusta, Georgia.

Scottie Scheffler, Lydia Ko and Steven Alker have been voted 2022 Players of the Year in their respective divisions by members of the Golf Writers Association of America. Ko, 25, is the only player among the three who is a previous winner, having claimed the award in 2015. All three players will be honored at the 49th annual ISPS Handa/GWAA Awards Dinner on April 5 in Augusta, Georgia, during Masters Tournament week.

Scheffler, 26, earned 49.2 percent of first-place votes, winning over Rory McIlroy, a three-time winner, and Cameron Smith, whose victories included the Open Championship and The Players.

Scheffler claimed his first PGA Tour victory in February at the WM Phoenix Open and added victories at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play (where he ascended to No. 1 in the Official World Golf Ranking) and in April, won his first major championship at the Masters. He finished second to McIlroy in the FedEx Cup Playoffs.

“It was a great year. I’m very pleased with how the year went,” Scheffler said in a release. “To win an award like that, to be recognized as the best player for the year, is really special, and something I’ll look back on in my career.”

Ko won three times last season including her first victory on South Korean soil and a record-setting first-place check at the CME Group Tour Championship. She won the Rolex Player of the Year race, the Vare Trophy for low scoring average (68.99) and the money title.

The newlywed earned 79.5 percent of first-place votes, beating finalists Minjee Lee and Atthaya Thitikul.

“What an honor to be awarded the GWAA’s Player of the Year,” Ko said. “It means so much to me to win it for a second time. What an amazing year 2022 turned out to be. So many cool things happened in my life, culminating in my wedding. While nothing could be more special than that, my golf was pretty good, too! I am truly thankful to everyone with the GWAA for recognizing me with this prestigious award.”

Lydia Ko of New Zealand poses with the trophy after winning the CME Group Tour Championship at Tiburon Golf Club on November 20, 2022 in Naples, Florida. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)

Alker, who, like Ko, hails from New Zealand, had to earn status on the PGA Tour Champions in 2021 when he turned 50. In his first full season in 2022, he was a dominant force.

Alker, 51, finished in the top three in 13 of his 23 starts, won four times – including his first senior major, the KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship – and captured the season-long Charles Schwab Cup. Alker earned 50.3 percent of first-place votes to beat out Padraig Harrington and Steve Stricker.

“That’s pretty neat, especially with the company that I’m in, with all the names (of past winners),” Alker said. “Lee Trevino, Tom Watson, Hale Irwin, Bernhard (Langer), that’s pretty neat. Look, the awards that come along with a season like that are amazing. It’s fantastic.

“Obviously, I had time to sit down just before Christmas and kind of think about really what I’d done. I’m pleased and proud of myself for the consistency that I had throughout the year. That was the big thing. Padraig put a little pressure on me there at the end and I still had some work to do there at the Schwab Cup Championship. There were some big wins in there, so it was amazing.”

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Steven Alker continues amazing PGA Tour Champions run, wins 2022 Charles Schwab Cup

To think it all started at a Monday qualifier 15 months ago.

PHOENIX — To think it all started at a Monday qualifier 15 months ago.

Thirty-two events and $4,710,612 later, Steven Alker has reached new heights. On Sunday, he clinched his first PGA Tour Champions series title at Phoenix Country Club, punctuating his win with a big smile and a fist pump on the 18th green.

Alker shot a final-round 68 to finish solo third, which was a whopping eight shots back of tournament winner Padraig Harrington, but still good enough to clinch the series title for the first time. With a Harrington win, any finish inside the top five would have been good enough for Alker.

“Amazing. Honestly, just having friends and family and the support here this week has been amazing,” said Alker, who has lived in Arizona since 2002. “Playing with Padraig today, it was kind of difficult because ‘Do I chase him, do I protect?’ … I just tried to play my game as good as I could, but he played amazing and just glad to be champion.”

This moment is the culmination of a rapid-fire success rate for Alker since joining the senior circuit.

In 2021, 18 days after he turned 50 which made him eligible for the PGA Tour Champions, Alker flew to Seattle looking for an outside shot at getting into the Boeing Classic. He got in thanks a strong Monday qualifier score, a rout he had to take because he had no status on the tour.

He hasn’t played in a PGA Tour event since 2017 and he spent the majority of his pro career slogging through Korn Ferry Tour events. According to Harrington, Alker grinding on the Korn Ferry Tour into his late 40s is what most likely set the table for his amazing run now.

2022 Charles Schwab Cup Championship
Steven Alker holds the trophy after winning the 2022 Charles Schwab Cup. (Photo: Rob Schumacher/The Arizona Republic-USA TODAY NETWORK)

“The fact is he was always a nice player,” Harrington said Wednesday before the championship got started. “He’s probably as physically fit now as he was 20 years ago, so he hasn’t gone backwards. The players who tend to do nicely out here are the ones who are still trying to be competitive from 45 years of age to 50 years of age. Those are the ones. You can’t give the game up for five years or eight years or 10 years and hope to come out here and find it again, you know, unless you were a world-class player. You’ve got to keep being competitive and he did that. That’s why you’re seeing his good play now. He was still on the Korn Ferry Tour when he was 49 years of age. There’s not a lot of guys at 49 who could do that.”

Rounds of 67-73-67 in his first Champions event netted him a tie for seventh in the 2021 Boeing Classic, and that would be it for his Monday qualifying days as that top-10 finish earned him a spot in the field the next week at the Ally Challenge, where he finished solo third. From there, he kept getting into more Champions events because he kept stacking up top-10s.

In fact, he posted six straight top-10s and earned a spot in the 2021 Charles Schwab Cup Playoffs. In the second of the two playoff events last year, Alker found victory lane at the TimberTech Championship. A second-place finish at Phoenix Country Club the following week capped a whirlwind stretch and put $1,146,207 into his bank account.

The calendar change to 2022 didn’t slow him down. Alker won three times before June 1 and then won for a series-tying fourth time to open the Schwab playoffs.

By the time they got to Phoenix, Alker had a commanding lead in the points race. Even Harrington’s blistering weekend scores of 62 and 65 had no bearing on the steady Alker. He didn’t make a bogey until the 12th hole Sunday. He had another one on 13 but then birdied the 14th. A birdie on the 16th was his 21st of the week.

Alker’s third-place finish is worth $210,000, bringing his 2022 total $3,544,425 and career total to $4,710,632.

“Just a lot of hard yards. It’s just, you know, I’ve played everywhere, I’ve played everywhere and I think that kind of helped today in a way just playing the PGA Tour and Australasia and Asia and Korn Ferry,” he said. “I’ve played everywhere. It’s been an amazing journey and just to be here and to have this opportunity has been amazing.”

Now it’s time to celebrate, but how?

“I like red wine,” he said. “I don’t want to mix drinks tonight, won’t be a good idea, but we’ll have a couple. It will probably sink in a bit more tomorrow, but yeah, this is neat, it’s so cool.”

Alker will also collect $1 million in bonus money for winning the Schwab Cup series title, money that will be paid out as a lump sum deposit into a Schwab brokerage account.

  • First place: $1 million
  • Second: $500,000
  • Third: $300,000
  • Fourth: $200,000
  • Fifth: $100,000

For winning the tournament, Harrington earned the first-place prize of $440,000, bringing his season total to $3,293,255.

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Padraig Harrington wins Charles Schwab Cup Championship in record fashion for fourth PGA Tour Champions victory

Harrington tied a 32-year-old record held by Jack Nicklaus and broke a 10-year-old mark of Tom Lehman.

PHOENIX — It was a banner day for Padraig Harrington, who backed up his Saturday 62 with a Sunday 65 to win the 2022 Charles Schwab Cup Championship. Along the way, he broke a 10-year-old mark held by Tom Lehman and tied a 32-year-old record held by Jack Nicklaus.

Harrington won the tournament by seven shots over Alex Cejka and eight over Cup series champion Steven Alker.

Harrington’s 27 under total tied the mark set by Nicklaus in the 1990 Bridgestone Senior Players Championship. His total of 257 breaks Tom Lehman’s mark of 258, recorded at the 2012 Charles Schwab Cup Championship held that year at Desert Mountain Club (Cochise) in Scottsdale, Arizona.

“I didn’t realize that. It’s nice to hold the record with Jack Nicklaus, I believe he’s done it as well. Kind of glad I didn’t beat him,” he said.

Harrington started the final round with a five-shot lead but margin of victory wasn’t a factor in the points race. He only had an outside shot at winning the season-long title because he needed to win and also have Steven Alker finish outside the top five.

Alker, steady all week with scores of 65-64-68-68, finished solo third, more than enough to clinch his first championship.

Harrington’s Sunday was highlighted with a long putt from off the green on the par-3 15th hole.

A huge smile crossed his face after his ball found the cup, which Alker fetched out of the cup for him, and that got him to 26 under. An ensuing birdie on the par-3 16th hole got him to 27 under. He then parred the final hole.

Harrington had one of the only three eagles made the entire week (1st hole Saturday) and he only had two bogeys over 72 holes. His first full season on the Champions circuit also included a major at the U.S. Senior Open and more than $3 million in earnings.

“I’m not a person when I’m on the golf course, I hate watching my opposition and wishing them bad,” Harrington said. “I much prefer a rising tide lifts all ships, so I just didn’t want to get involved in what Steve needed to do and just focused on what I needed to do. I think we both played well the three days we played together and we both played well every day.”

Alker now has a second and a third in two appearances in the finale. Overall, he has five wins and 27 top-10s in his first 33 starts on the tour.

Cejka rode an eagle-birdie-birdie start to slide into second. His eagle on the par-5 opening hole was just the third eagle from the entire field; Thongchai Jaidee eagled the 18th on Friday. Cejka shot 63-65 over the weekend.

Miguel Angel Jimenez, Lee Janzen and Stephen Ames tied for fourth at 16 under. Retief Goosen was solo seventh at 15 under.

Seven days after earning his 44th PGA Tour Champions title, Bernhard Langer finished tied for 17th at 7 under. His 45th win will have to wait until at least January when the 2023 season starts at the Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai in Hawaii.

A look at the money

For winning the tournament, Harrington earned the first-place prize of $440,000. That brings his season total to $3,293,255.

Alker’s third-place finish is worth $210,000, bringing his 2022 total to $3,564,425. Alker’s career earnings on the senior circuit is now $4,710,632.

But wait, there’s more. Alker will also collect a $1 million bonus for winning the Schwab Cup series title. That will be paid out as a lump sum deposit into a Schwab brokerage account.

  • First place: $1,000,000
  • Second: $500,000
  • Third: $300,000
  • Fourth: $200,000
  • Fifth: $100,000

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Padraig Harrington opens huge lead at Charles Schwab Cup Championship, buys beer for a few fans along the way

Padraig Harrington could win by 10 shots this week in Phoenix and it might not matter.

PHOENIX — Padraig Harrington could win by 10 shots this week and it might not matter.

Harrington, second in the Charles Schwab Cup Championship points race, lit up Phoenix Country Club on Saturday, bombing his way around the 6,860-yard, par-71 course to the tune of a 9-under 62 to take a sizable five-shot lead after 54 holes.

Harrington has put himself in great position to win the tournament but to win the series title, he needs to win and have Alker finish outside the top five.

“Today was a good day. I think I’ve been playing pretty solid all the way through and just waiting for a good day like today,” Harrington said.

Alker was a little more direct with his assessment.

“Padraig kicked my ass today, that’s basically what happened,” he said.

The problem for Harrington, who is at 21 under, is that Alker shot a 3-under 68 on Saturday to get to 16 under, and while he’s still five shots back of the tournament lead, he’s still ahead of everyone but Harrington. In other words, as gaudy as Harrington’s lead is now, the steady Alker is now just 18 holes away from his first series championship.

Harrington jump started his round with an eagle on the first hole, just the second eagle the entire field has produced over 54 holes. Starting the day a shot back of Alker, Harrington quickly had the outright lead.

Birdies on Nos. 5 and 7 helped him get to the turn in 32. On the 11th hole, Harrington made birdie to get to 17 under for a three-shot lead. He then poured in a curling left-to-right putt from about 12 feet to get to 18 under. That birdie on No. 12 was made possible after Harrington converted a ridiculous second shot over some tall trees.

Even a stray tee shot on the 14th hole didn’t faze Harrington. Hitting from the rough off the right side from 111 yards out and just a few feet from the perimeter fence, Harrington stuffed his approach, then made yet another birdie putt to be the first one in the field to get to 20 under for the week.

On 18, Harrington had his fifth eagle putt of the day, this one for a 61, but he missed left. Still, his two-foot birdie gave him a 62, the tournament’s best score of the week. It also got him to 21 under.

“I think I’m better than, you know, I’ve been in past years,” Harrington said. “I’m bold, I do my own thing, which has never been my strength. I’ve always been a better chaser than leader. We’ll go and see tomorrow what happens. I’ve certainly given myself a few options. You know, five ahead, so hopefully I’ll go out there and play well and can wave at the crowds which if it doesn’t happen that way, well, we’ll have to dig deep and find another way of winning.”

Alker’s birdie on 18 capped a bogey-free 68. In fact, he’s bogey-free through 54 holes.

“I’ve got a lot of chasing to do now to win the tournament, but yeah, get a good night’s sleep and we’ll be all right,” he said.

Brian Gay shot a 66 on Saturday and is solo third. He’s six back and not counting himself out just yet.

“[Padraig’s] playing great, obviously. I didn’t really pay much attention to the scores, and then late in the round my caddie said he was 20 so he’s still rolling,” Gay said. “So, you never know, just go out and try to play well and make as many birdies as you can and see what happens.”

For about an hour Saturday, Alex Cejka held the honor of round of the week at Phoenix Country Club after his 8-under 63. He’s in solo fourth at 14 under. Retief Goosen is solo fifth at 13 under after shooting a third-round 68.

Alker and Harrington entered the season finale as the only two golfers who had a shot to claim the Cup.

Beer time

There was a light moment on the 16th hole Saturday. Harrington stepped up to the tee box, but “there was a bunch of guys who were sitting in the corner of the grandstand on 16, and the shadows late in the day were just coming across,” Harrington explained. “They were moving. They wouldn’t know, so I needed them to move, which they’d been sitting there I assume all day waiting for this; I hope they were waiting for me all day. I got them to move.

“They still got a good view, but I did buy them a beer afterwards.”

Langer now a long shot

Bernhard Langer entered the week chasing a different kind of history. A week ago, he won his 44th title on the Champions tour; a 45th would tie Hale Irwin’s all-time Champions mark, set 15 years ago.

After opening 66-69, Langer shot a 1-under 70 Saturday and will start the final round at 8 under, 13 shots back. His record-tying win will have to wait until at least January in the 2023 season opener at the Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai in Hawaii.

Prize money this week

First place at the Schwab Cup is $440,000. Whoever wins the series title banks a $1 million bonus. In fact, the top five finishers in the final Cup standings will earn a lump sum deposit into a Schwab brokerage account:

  • First place: $1,000,000
  • Second: $500,000
  • Third: $300,000
  • Fourth: $200,000
  • Fifth: $100,000

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Steven Alker and Padraig Harrington, 1-2 in the points race, are 1-2 on the leaderboard at Charles Schwab Cup Championship

Steven Alker and Padraig Harrington are separated by just a shot.

PHOENIX — It should come as no surprise that two of the best players on the PGA Tour Champions in 2022 are dominating the field at the Charles Schwab Cup Championship.

It should also come as no surprise that the golfer who has taken this tour by storm in the last 15 months has put himself in the driver’s seat to claim his first series title.

Steven Alker, tied for the tour lead with four wins this season, including a major at the Senior PGA Championship, came into the playoffs leading the points race. Padraig Harrington, in his first full season on the tour, is No. 2 in points and has won three times, including a major at the U.S. Senior Open.

Once the computers crunched all the numbers, Alker and Harrington were the only ones mathematically alive who could claim the season title. After the two pre-tournament favorites went shot-for-shot on a sunny Friday afternoon at Phoenix Country Club, it’s Alker and Harrington atop the leaderboard.

Harrington, playing in the third-to-last group in the second round, posted a birdie-birdie finish to shoot a 64, tied for low round of the week. He is at 12 under after 36 holes. For Harrington to claim the Cup, however, he needs to win but he also he needs Alker to finish outside the top five.

That’s starting to look like a long shot.

“Steve is relentless,” Harrington told Golf Channel after his round.

Alker was tied for the lead after 18 holes and after a 7-under 64, he holds the outright lead. Alker opened his round Friday with a pair of birdies, took his first outright lead with another birdie on No. 5. For the next couple hours, he would share the lead with Harrington a couple more times. Birdies on 15 and 17 got him to 13 under for the week so far. Alker has 13 birdies over two days and has yet to bogey a hole.

“I know what I’ve got to do, the numbers are all there. It’s kind of black and white. I just try and put myself in position to win a golf tournament, that’s big for me,” Alker said. “I’ve got to keep hammering those birdies out.”

Alker, a New Zealander who moved to Scottsdale in 2002, has his family following him this week, including his wife Tanya, son Ben and daughter Skye. That rooting section will be down one Saturday as Skye, a member of the Fountain Hills High School cross country team, will be competing in the state championships.

“Go Falcons,” Alker said.

Alker and Harrington are the only two golfers who can win the Cup this week. Even if Harrington wins this tournament, he needs Alker to finish outside the top five.

What about Langer?

Bernhard Langer, the ageless wonder who at 65 won for the 44th time on the Champions tour last week, has posted scores of 66 and 69 and is tied for eighth at 7 under. A 45th win would tie Hale Irwin’s mark set 15 years ago, but he’ll start Saturday’s third round six shots off the pace.

Lots of birdies but just one eagle

The quirky stat of the week after 36 holes: it took until late in the day Friday for the first eagle to be finally recorded.

Thongchai Jaidee rolled in a birdie putt on the par-5 18th hole to give him a second-round 68 and move him into the top 10. It’s the only eagle after 1,188 holes of competition. There have been 284 birdies so far this week.

What’s on the line?

First place this week is good for $440,000. The winner of the Cup race banks a cool $1 million bonus.

In fact, the top five finishers in the Cup standings will earn a lump sum deposit into a Schwab brokerage account:

First place: $1,000,000

Second: $500,000

Third: $300,000

Fourth: $200,000

Fifth: $100,000

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PGA Tour Champions: Win at the 2021 TimberTech changed Steve Alker’s golf trajectory

Alker has five wins, five seconds and four thirds in his past 22 starts on the PGA Tour Champions.

BOCA RATON, Fla. — When Steven Alker showed up at last year’s TimberTech Championship, he had no status on the PGA Tour Champions, hadn’t won a tournament in seven years and had the same financial concerns as most 50-year-olds.

He was a journeyman’s journeyman.

Not anymore.

Much has changed in the past 52 weeks, beginning with his two-shot victory at the TimberTech Championship to earn him a precious exemption on the 50-and-older circuit.

“That was huge, to be able to avoid Q-school,” Alker said. “It’s not easy to get out here.”

But the New Zealander has made it look easy since the day he turned 50. He Monday-qualified for an event and then finished in the top 10 in his first five tournaments to continue earning starts on the PGA Tour Champions.

Winning at Broken Sound last year took his game to new heights. He has five wins, five seconds and four thirds in his past 22 starts.

Money concerns? Not now.

Alker has earned almost $4.4 million in the past 14 months on the PGA Tour Champions, which is almost double what he earned ($2.31 million) while playing mainly on the European and Korn Ferry tours during a 22-year stretch from 1998-2020.

He could clinch another $1 million payout in the Charles Schwab Cup playoffs if he were to win this week, with the $350,000 first prize pushing his PGA Tour Champions earnings past $6 million. It’s not LIV Golf kind of money, but it’s changed his world.

“I haven’t had a lot of chances to spend that money because it’s happened so fast,” Alker said. “But it’s nice to have that security for my family, knowing I can put my kids through college. I haven’t had that type of security since, almost, never.”

Alker will never be a household name — despite his success, he doesn’t get much airtime on Golf Channel’s telecasts — and he knows he doesn’t move the proverbial needle. But his fellow players respect his game and what he has accomplished in a short time.

“If you ask anybody out here, they’d say they’re probably surprised at what he has done,” said 2011 British Open champion and 2020 TimberTech winner Darren Clarke. “Some people bloom at different stages of their career. The scores he has been shooting and his consistency are impressive.”

There were several factors that helped Alker’s emergence: He continued to play a full-time schedule into his late 40s, keeping him competitive; he was looking forward to playing on the PGA Tour Champions (“some guys aren’t,” he said); and he sought out the advice of countryman Bob Charles when he was 47.

Charles was the first lefty to win a major (1963 British Open) and he ranks fourth on the PGA Tour Champions career wins list with 25. Charles also enjoyed longevity, becoming at 70 the oldest player to make a cut on the PGA European Tour in 2007.

“Bob knows my game and he told me not to change anything,” Alker said. “He knew I had the game to play out here. He told me to just keep doing what I’ve been doing.”

Alker has never shied away from his journeyman tag. He said the only place he hasn’t played competitively was the Middle East.

“I guess when you talk journeyman, you’ve kind of been everywhere and done everything, and I kind of feel like I’ve done that,” Alker said. “A lot of places I’ve been I haven’t done it well, but some places I have.”

There’s a new star on the PGA Tour Champions. It might have taken Alker 30 years to become an overnight sensation, but it’s one of those feel-good stories the tour is known for.

Better late than never.

“I guess where I’m at and what I’m doing right now, I’ve only got so many years left in my career so it’s kind of like, ‘OK, that’s done, great, fantastic. What’s next?’ ” Alker said. “That’s kind of how I’m treating it.”

It’s been quite a journey for the ex-journeyman.

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Steve Stricker takes Sunday stroll to PGA Tour Champions major title at Regions Tradition

Steve Stricker cruised to a six-shot win at the Regions Tradition.

Steve Stricker, playing a third week in a row on the PGA Tour Champions after being knocked down for six months due to mysterious illness, is back in the winner’s circle.

Stricker led the Regions Tradition by three shots after 54 holes at Greystone Golf & Country Club and never let up Sunday.

After a birdie on No. 17, he stood on the 18th tee box at 20 under, five shots clear of the field. He would tack on another birdie on the par-5 closing hole to get to 21 under and win by a whopping six shots.

It’s the fifth major championship on the senior circuit for Stricker, who has a tie for second and a tie for 10th to go with this latest win in his last three weeks of competition.

Stricker was runner-up in this event a year ago to Alex Cejka, but Cejka was disqualified following his third round Saturday. According to the tour, he was found to be using a “yardage book that had not been approved for the competition by the PGA Tour Champions Rules Committee.”

Also DQ’d this week: John Daly got the boot after the second round Friday after he failed to sign his scorecard.

Padraig Harrington birded his last two holes to earn a solo second finish at 15 under.

Steve Alker, who had two wins and a runner-up finish in his last three starts before this week, bogeyed the 18th to fall into a five-way tie for third at 14 under. Alker now has 14 top-10s and 10 top-5s in just 17 starts since joining the Champions tour last summer.

Ernie Els, Rodney Pampling and Stuart Appleby also tied Alker at 14 under.

The Champions tour is off next week and returns to action May 26-29 with the KitchenAide Senior PGA Championship at Harbor Shores Resort in Benton Harbor, Michigan.

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Steve Stricker is one round away from claiming his fifth PGA Tour Champions major victory

This comeback story would be one for the record books.

What we’re seeing in Birmingham, Alabama, is straight out of a redemption movie.

Just weeks after leading the U.S. Ryder Cup team to a victory at Whistling Straits, Steve Stricker fell ill, a sickness that is still a mystery to this day.

Now, after three rounds at Greystone Golf & Country Club, Stricker leads the Regions Tradition by three shots and is just 18 holes away from winning his fifth major championship on the senior circuit.

After back-to-back birdies on Nos. 3 and 4, the 55-year-old added another circle to the card on No. 8 to turn with a 3-under 33. A misstep on 10 pushed him back to 2 under for the day, but he would rebound with birdies on 13, 14, 15, and 18.

Stricker sits atop the leaderboard at 17 under.

Steve Stricker lines up a putt on the eighth green during the third round of the Regions Tradition at Greystone Golf and Country Club on May 14, 2022 in Birmingham, Alabama. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images)

Steve Alker, who’s compiled two wins and a runner-up finish in his last three starts, is the closest competitor to Stricker sitting at 14 under for the tournament after a Saturday afternoon 7-under 65.

Alker opened with birdies on Nos. 1 and 2, then added another on No. 8 for a front-side 33. Four more birdies on the back to complete the bogey-free effort.

Miguel Angel Jiménez is at 12 under for the tournament, five shots back of the lead. Stuart Appleby and Padraig Harrington are 11 under while Ernie Els and Glen Day sit at 10 under.
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John Daly withdraws, Steven Alker leads after first round of the Dominion Energy Charity Classic

If you’ve never heard of Steve Alker, you’re not alone, but he had quite the day.

It didn’t take long for one of the premier names on the PGA Tour Champions to withdraw from the Dominion Energy Charity Classic, as John Daly called it quits after playing his first eight holes 1 over. No reason was given, but have to figure fans at The Country Club of Virginia are sad to see him go.

Steven Alker, on the other hand, had quite the day. He teed off on 10 and got right to work with back-to-back birdies on 12 and 13. Alker would make the turn with a blemish-free 5-under 31. He then birdied four of the first five holes on his back nine for a day total of 9-under 63.

If you’ve never heard of Alker, you’re not alone. The New Zealander spent most of his career on PGA Tour Australasia and Korn Ferry Tour (Web.com at the time). He does have a notable finish in a major championship, with a T-19 at the 2012 Open, an event won by Ernie Els.

“It’s a new chapter for me coming from Korn Ferry and playing with those young guys; big, strong, hitting it forever,” Alker said after his round on Friday. “So in places I was competitive out there, but I’m kind of maybe a little more competitive out here. But as I said, my game’s just coming around at the right time.”

“Out here I find with the three days, you’ve got to get a hot start, otherwise you’re kind of on the back foot of it,” he went on to say. “Only two to go. It’s kind of like playing the weekend really now, just keep going at it.”

Last week Alker finished in a tie for 16th at the SAS Championship, but before that, posted six straight top 10 finishes on the Champions Tour.

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Bernhard Langer, who currently leads the Charles Schwab Cup, played well on Friday keeping the bogeys off the card. After a pedestrian 2-under 34 on the front, Langer made four birdies coming home for a 6-under 66.

“It’s just been more solid play. I haven’t had a lot of Ws, but I’ve put myself in contention a number of times, lots of top-10s, top-5s, just knocking on the door,” Langer said Wednesday when asked about his lead going into the playoffs. “Very consistent play for the last, well, it’s been two years really because we had the super season going.”

He’ll enter the second round T-3, three shots back of Alker.

Notable names in the field and their position: Jim Furyk (3 under, T-17), Ernie Els (2 under, T-26), and Phil Mickelson (1 under, T-31).

Shot of the day

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