It was just a little more than two months ago Steven Alker was putting the finishing touches on his first Charles Schwab Cup Championship.
Now with the 2023 PGA Tour Champions season upon us, it’s fair to ask if the senior circuit torch has been passed from Bernhard Langer to Alker.
Once again, the circuit starts in Hawaii, and the first event is reserved for winners of tournaments a season ago or past tournament champs at the Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai on the Island of Hawaii.
The 54-hole tournament starts Friday, Jan.19 and concludes on Sunday, Jan. 21 at Hualalai Golf Course.
This is the 44th season of the Champions tour.
Steven Alker train keeps rolling
Steven Alker reacts after making his final putt on the 18th hole to win of the 2022 Charles Schwab Cup. (Photo: Rob Schumacher/The Arizona Republic-USA TODAY NETWORK)
A true-to-life, out-of-nowhere story, Steven Alker Monday-qualified into his first Champions event within a month of turning 50 and that triggered something.
Five wins and 27 top-10s in just 33 starts on the PGA Tour Champions later, Alker heads to Hawaii as the top dog.
On Tuesday, Alker collected some serious hardware, as he won the 2022 Jack Nicklaus Award as the PGA Tour Champions Player of the Year. He had already earned the Arnold Palmer Award which goes to the tour’s money leader. Alker made $3,544,425 in 2022; that’s the second most in a single season in Champions tour history. He also officially earned the Byron Nelson Award for having the best scoring average (68.27).
Justin Leonard joins the fun full-time
Justin Leonard plays his shot from the seventh tee during the final round of the 2022 PNC Championship at Ritz-Carlton Golf Club in Orlando. (Photo: Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)
A long-time on-air analyst for Golf Channel, Justin Leonard recently told Golfweek: “Just in the last year or so I have gotten back into much more specific golf training.”
He turned 50 last…
