Steven Alker's dominance across first year on PGA TOUR Champions

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Steven Alker's dominance across first year on PGA TOUR Champions

By the numbers as Charles Schwab Cup leader celebrates 51st birthday
- July 28, 2022
  By Connor Stange , PGATOUR.COM Follow @ChampionsTour
Steven Alker has won four times in his first 12 months on PGA TOUR Champions. (Stacy Revere/Getty Images)

As Steven Alker celebrates his 51st birthday on Thursday, below is a look at how dominant he has been during his first “trip around the sun” on PGA TOUR Champions.

Top-10 Streak

On August 16, 2021, Alker shot 68 to finish T2 in a Monday qualifier at High Cedar Golf Club in Orting, Washington and earned one of four spots into that week’s Boeing Classic. He finished T7 at the event, which earned him a spot into the following week’s Ally Challenge.

In all, Alker reeled off six consecutive top-10 finishes to start his PGA TOUR Champions career.

2021 Tournament	Finish	Schwab Ranking After Event
Boeing Classic	T7	99th
The Ally Challenge	3rd	73rd
Ascension Charity Classic	T9	65th
Sanford International	T7	63rd
PURE Insurance Championship	T5	59th
Constellation FURYK & FRIENDS	T7	56th

Playoff Performer

After finishing T16 in the 2020-21 regular-season finale (SAS Championship), Alker sat 55th in the Charles Schwab Cup standings.

During the Charles Schwab Cup Playoffs, Alker was the lone player to advance to the following event after starting the week outside of the qualification number.

• At the conclusion of the regular season, the top 72 in the Charles Schwab Cup standings qualify for the Dominion Energy Charity Classic.

• The top 54 in the Charles Schwab Cup standings after the Dominion Energy Charity Classic advance to the TimberTech Championship.

• The top 36 in the Charles Schwab Cup standings after the TimberTech Championship advance to the Charles Schwab Cup Championship.

2021 Schwab Cup Playoffs	Finish	Ranking Before	Ranking After	How Many Advance?
Dominion Energy Charity Classic	T4	55th	51st	Top 54
TimberTech Championship	Won	51st	35th	Top 36
Charles Schwab Cup Championship	2nd	35th	27th

Money

In the past year, Alker has earned nearly $3.5 million on PGA TOUR Champions, accumulating $1.14 million in 2021 before amassing $2.32 million so far in 2022.

His PGA TOUR Champions earnings ($3.46 million) are more than he earned on the PGA TOUR and Korn Ferry Tour combined ($2.31 million).

Tour	Starts	Wins	Top-10s	Money Earned
PGA TOUR Champions	23	4	19	$3,467,568
PGA TOUR	86	0	0	$841,849
Korn Ferry Tour	304	4	24	$1,477,017

Best and Worst

Alker has made 23 starts and played 71 rounds on PGA TOUR Champions. Here is the breakdown:

PGA TOUR Champions	Quantity	Notes
Wins	4	17.4% of his starts
Top-3s	12	52.2% of his starts
Top-5s	15	65.2% of his starts
Top-10s	19	82.6% of his starts
Top-25s	23	100% of his starts
Worst Finish	T20	2022 Cologuard Classic
Rounds in the 60s	52	73.2% of his rounds
Rounds of 65 or better	13	18.3% of his rounds
Best Round	62	2022 Rapiscan Systems Classic (Round 2)
Worst Round	74	2022 Hoag Classic (Round 2)

Major Performances

Alker played in all five senior majors in 2022, winning the KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship in his second major appearance. He has four top-3 finishes in five starts, and has finished no worse than T11.

Major	Finish
2022 Regions Tradition	T3
2022 KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship	Won
2022 U.S. Senior Open Championship	T11
2022 Bridgestone SENIOR PLAYERS Championship	T3
2022 Senior Open Championship presented by Rolex	T3

Position by Round

In his 71 rounds on PGA TOUR Champions, here’s how many times Alker has been atop or near the top of the leaderboard (including final results):

Position After Any Round	Quantity	Percentage
Led or co-led	12	16.9%
Been inside the top 5	45	63.4%
Been inside the top 10	53	74.6%

Stats Breakdown

Here is how Alker ranks on PGA TOUR Champions in several statistical categories this season:

Stat Category	Value	Rank
Scoring Average	68.15	1st
Greens in Regulation	78.09%	1st
Birdie Average	4.73	1st
Eagles (Holes per)	72	1st
All-Around Ranking	44	1st
Putting	1.73	3rd
Sand Save Percentage	62.22%	3rd
Total Driving	34	4th

Alker vs. the field

During Alker’s 13 starts in 2022, he has beaten or tied 1,137 of 1,192 competitors (95.4%) in regulation. In addition to his three victories, he has two playoff losses.

In his last nine starts, Alker has beaten or tied 899 of 917 competitors (98.0%) in regulation.

The Leader

Alker has led the Charles Schwab Cup standings for each of the last nine consecutive weeks, dating back to April.

His current lead in the points standings over No. 2 Padraig Harrington ($773,578) is larger than Harrington’s lead over No. 10 Thongchai Jaidee ($711,418).