After turning 50 in 2021, Alker has taken his over 50s career by storm by securing the first Senior Major title of the year and showcasing a round that is the best final round by a winner in Senior Major history.
Alker won a total of seven times around the world with tournament victories in America, Australia, Canada, Fiji and Tahiti but admits the over 50s game has given him that second chance of winning tournaments.
“I can’t put my finger on one thing exactly,” he said. “I look back and I go, geez, did I really have the game, or did I have the attitude? You know, certain courses suited me out there. But I couldn’t really put my finger on it exactly.
“I’ve matured and it’s a second wind. That’s the biggest thing, I’ve had these 18 months, two years, 50s coming up, so let’s stay in shape. Let’s keep playing. We have a second career. Let’s go for it. Let’s go.
“I got a chance to talk to my wife real quick. It was like a three-minute, two-minute thing before we had the toast at the Champion’s tent. Just, “Hi, Honey, we did it.” That was pretty cool. I’ll catch up with everybody, the phone has gone off the hook, got a hundred messages pretty quick. Team Alk was on the bag, and yeah, it’s a pretty big team. It’s kind of small, but it’s big, and just helped me the last couple years just keep playing keep persevering. Showing the rewards now.”
The KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship has seen many greats over the years lift the spectacular trophy, including Colin Montgomerie, Bernhard Langer, Tom Watson and Tom Lehman.
“First, I saw Arnold Palmer, I’m not sure what year it was,” said Alker. “And you twist it and you see Lee Trevino and you see Jack Nicklaus and you see Tom Watson. So yeah, it’s pretty cool. Pretty cool.
“I was very, very calm. I wanted it but I had a lot of ground to make up. I didn’t want to push
too hard and go too aggressive, because around here, you can, you can come unstuck pretty quick. You can miss greens and get on the wrong side of pins and miss a few fairways, and it’s like, boy, all of a sudden, you’re struggling for pars.
“I got a nice start. Made some nice putts. I just kind of did everything well today. Just the whole package, just stayed calm and made good decisions and putted nicely and drove it better and yeah, and that all adds up to 63.”
Stephen Ames of Canada finished three shots back on 13 under par, closely followed by two-time Masters champion Bernhard Langer on 10 under par with four players finishing a shot further back including Miguel Ángel Jiménez and KJ Choi of South Korea.
Colin Montgomerie finished on eight under par along with four other players including Brian Gay and Mark Hensby who shot a four under par round of 67.
The next stop on Legends Tour schedule is the Jersey Legends at La Moye Golf Club from June 9 – 12, which will showcase a stellar field of Legends including former World No1 and 1991 Master champion, Ian Woosnam. There are still tickets and playing experiences up for grabs. Follow this link for more information.
