Three clear at Warwick Hills
Steven Alker closed with a 4-under 68 on Sunday and won the Ally Challenge by three strokes in Grand Blanc, Mich. The New Zealander finished the three-round event at 15-under 201 at Warwick Hills Golf and Country Club.
He began the final day two behind Michael Block. Birdies at the third and the seventh, a dropped shot at the par-3 eighth, then four birdies in a row from the 12th through the 15th. The last of them arrived from distance.
“It was coming across, it was down. Just trying to two-putt, two-putt and get out of there, but that was a bonus, gave me a buffer,” Alker said of a putt he estimated at a good 60 feet.
The buffer held. A bogey at the last cost him nothing.
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Back-to-back is rarer than it sounds
Alker, 55, has won three times this season. He took the Cologuard Classic in Tucson in March and the Rogers Charity Classic in Calgary last weekend, both in playoffs. This one he closed out in regulation.
Consecutive victories on the 50-and-older tour do not come around often. Zach Johnson was the last player to win back-to-back starts, at the Principal Charity Classic on June 14 and the Kaulig Companies Championship on July 12. Stewart Cink was the most recent to win consecutive tournaments on the schedule, taking the Hoag Classic on March 29 and the Senior PGA Championship on April 19.
“To have these back-to-back weeks is super special,” Alker said. “It’s just nice to get it done down the stretch. Whenever you have multiple-win seasons, you’re doing pretty good out here. It’s just getting harder and harder to win, especially with Zach and Stewart playing so well.”
It is his 13th career win on PGA Tour Champions. He arrived in Michigan fourth in the Charles Schwab Cup standings, chasing a third season title after 2022 and 2024. Cink leads that race and is going for a second in a row.
Goosen charges, Block learns
Retief Goosen produced the low round of the week, an 8-under 64, and climbed 19 places into second alone at 12-under 204. The South African made five birdies on the front nine for a 31, added three more at the 10th, 11th and 12th, birdied the 16th and dropped one at the par-4 15th.
“Yesterday I was like feeling like walking off the golf course,” Goosen said. “It’s a funny old game, one day you want to give it up and the next day you have a chance.”
Block shot 74 and slid into a share of third at 11 under with Cink, who signed for a 67, and Australia’s Greg Chalmers, who shot 69. It was Block’s fifth start on the tour and, by his own account, an education.
“Steven Alker showed me a couple things I need to do,” Block said. “He did what I do on the first and second day and he does it on the final day. I need to learn how to do that.”
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