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Steven Alker picked up proper the place he left off, successful the PGA Tour Champions’ season-opening Mitsubishi Electrical Championship in Ka’upulehu-Kona, Hawaii.
Alker, who gained the Charles Schwab Championship to wrap up the 2023 season in November, fired a second straight 9-under 63 at Hualalai Golf Course on Saturday to shoot a 54-hole whole of 25-under 191, and win by 4 strokes over Harrison Frazar and 5 over final 12 months’s Charles Schwab Cup champion Steve Stricker.
“I knew Stricker and Harrison had been going to return at me, so simply saved the pedal to the steel,” Alker mentioned.
It wasn’t misplaced on Alker, 52, {that a} 12 months in the past he completed tied for second on the Massive Island with caddie Sam Workman on the bag. Lower than three weeks later, the 55-year-old Workman died on Feb. 6 of most cancers. When Alker arrived on the course on Tuesday, he was greeted by a rainbow within the sky and in the course of the ultimate spherical he was the beneficiary of a fortuitous bounce on the par-5 seventh gap when his second shot, a 4-iron from 218 yards, sailed proper of the inexperienced, bounced off the cart path twice and ricocheted off lava and on to the inexperienced about 40 ft left of the outlet. He proceeded to empty the putt for an unlikely eagle. Alker couldn’t see it from his vantage level however when he was proven video of the shot later, he credited “good karma.”
Precisely one 12 months in the past, Sam Workman caddied for Steven Alker right here (Hualalai) in what turned out to be Sam’s final occasion ever. He handed away per week later from most cancers. This morning, we had been greeted with this rainbow #SamWorkman #TeamAlker #Hualalai pic.twitter.com/Ws01q8Jukd
— Troy Martin (@TroyMartinGolf) January 17, 2024
“Somebody mentioned it type of kicked off the trail and rolled up and went left. Only a lucky break,” he mentioned. “I used to be shocked to see it on the left aspect of the inexperienced. Thought it will need to have hit both somebody or one thing. It might have gone wherever.
“As I mentioned in my speech, typically it goes a method and final 12 months, a pair years in the past it goes the opposite manner, so all of it type of works out ultimately,” he added. “Made that putt, which was big.”
Mentioned Stricker, who collected his PGA Tour Champions Participant of the 12 months Award earlier within the week: “You get a bounce like that, and capitalize like that, it’s type of your day.”
With veteran caddie Troy Martin ably filling the footwear of Workman on the bag, Alker adopted up the eagle at seven with a birdie at eight to construct a three-shot cushion and by no means seemed again, matching the low 54-hole rating in PGA Tour Champions historical past.
Steven Alker of New Zealand reacts as he sinks his birdie putt on the 18th inexperienced to win the PGA Tour Champions Mitsubishi Electrical Championship at Hualalai Golf Course on Jan. 20, 2024 in Kailua Kona, Hawaii. (Picture by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Photos)
Among the many well-wishers to congratulate the New Zealand native on his eighth profession Champions Tour win in simply 54 begins was Germany’s Bernhard Langer.
“Beginning off the best way you completed,” Langer mentioned. “Good for you. Fairly particular.”
“We’ve received the rust off anyway, Bernhard,” Alker responded.
“Properly, I’ve received work to do, however you bought it,” Langer mentioned.
Alker, who has at the very least one win in every of his 4 seasons, courting again to 2021, has discovered that successful manner.
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