Champion of the Champions: Steven Alker wins Charles Schwab Cup

Posted By Straight Down Clothing

Steven Alker’s Cinderella season is complete.

The Straight Down ambassador won the Charles Schwab Cup on Sunday, confirming him as the top player on PGA TOUR Champions little more than a year after he had to Monday qualify just to earn a spot on the circuit.

Alker was atop the Schwab Cup standings for the majority of the year and undoubtedly the tour’s top player this year. No one won more than his four titles in 2022. That included his first major championship, the Senior PGA Championship. He finished in the top 3 in an incredible 57% of his 23 starts this season and was outside the top 10 just five times.

PGA TOUR Champions is the circuit for professional golfers age 50 and over and represents another opportunity for major champions and World Golf Hall of Famers to compete. Alker beat these legends despite having to earn his spot on the tour the hard way.

Alker’s success since turning 50 comes after a hard-fought professional career that included just 86 starts on the PGA TOUR. The New Zealand native competed around the world for decades but also had to consider quitting at times as he failed to break through on golf’s highest level. His won four times on the Korn Ferry Tour (the PGA TOUR’s developmental circuit), as well as victories in Fiji, Tahiti, Canada and Australia.

On Sunday, as he soaked in the fruits of his success, Alker described his career as “a lot of hard yards.”

“I've played everywhere and I think that kind of helped (win the Schwab Cup) in a way, just playing the PGA TOUR and Australasia and Asia and Korn Ferry,” he said. “It's been an amazing journey.”