KITCHENAID SENIOR PGA CHAMPIONSHIP

May 29, 2022

Steven Alker

Press Conference

Harbor Shores

JOHN DEVER: Welcome back to the 2022 KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship at Harbor Shores. We are pleased to be joined by Steven Alker who just finished off the championship with a final round 63, 8-under par, finishing 16-under par for the championship with a four-day total of 268.

Steven, congratulations on what is an historic and terrific day. You closed with a 63 that matches the lowest final round by a winner. You had it going all day. Talk about how you played when you knew you had it and how you kept it going.

STEVEN ALKER: Yeah, well, you can probably kind of backtrack to last night. I kind of struggled with my driver a little bit this week, especially Friday, Saturday, and I hit a few balls and finished up the day and I still wasn't happy.

So I hit some more. Probably hit another 12, 15 drivers just to dial in, and got back to my blueprint and hit it nicely off the tee and gave myself a lo of good chances. Just because I drove it so good today, I gave myself cracks at par 5s and shorter irons into the par 4s.

Q. Great shot of you off 18 looking at the trophy and looking through the names. What strikes you when you join names like that?

STEVEN ALKER: First I saw Arnold Palmer, I'm not sure what year it was, 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.

Q. It's really cool. What sparked you on that run that started at 8, those birdies really put you in the middle of things.

STEVEN ALKER: That 7th hole, I hit it in the fairway bunker again -- no, I wasn't quite, I was in the rough. I messed up that hole and I got out with five. I was actually happy to make five. I just hit some nice wedges. The par 5s were on obviously. I didn't hit a good shot on No. 9 but I hit a nice pitch in there.

Actually had a nice little pitch chip on 10, too. Those are two big holes to get the momentum going. Could have easily been fives and I would have still been behind.

So I didn't really look at the leaderboard all day until I asked my caddie on 15. I really didn't actually look at a leaderboard all day. I actually asked my caddie on 15, "How we looking?"

He said, "We're tied."

So, away we go. "Let's go."

Q. So I talked to your playing competitor, Paul Goydos who you've never played with before, and he was just wondering where you've been for the first 50 years?

STEVEN ALKER: Yeah, there's been a lot of up-and-downs, the last 25, anyway.

Q. Can you talk just a little bit about that, since I have to write about this?

STEVEN ALKER: How long you got? Basically, you know, I played a lot of different sports growing up and I love soccer and I wanted to play soccer about you golf just took over time-wise. Dad played. That's going to be my career, that was it. I decided when I was young that was it.

But started in the islands and Australasian Tour and did my heart yards down there and then I decided to do go Canada and fry my luck there and went to America, as well, tried some qualifiers and things like that. Then got some BUY.COM status and nearly got my card in 2002, I think it was. BUY.COM and straight on the PGA Tour. It happened really quick, those two or three years, like wham. I had some pretty good form and feeling good. And then, you know, I just didn't get it done out there.

So just perseverance. That's all I can say. Just perseverance with a capital P.

Q. Why didn't you get it done out there and now you seem to be able to control everything out here?

STEVEN ALKER: I can't put my finger on one thing exactly. You know, 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 think right now, 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.

Q. And because when you had the lack of success on the Tour, what made you decide to continue to stay with it?

STEVEN ALKER: No idea to be honest. I must be mad. Probably my wife, just the support back home. I had a young family and it's kind of really all I knew. I could have gone back to New Zealand and started in business, or I would have liked to started something, I still would, actually.

But I had options. My wife is English, could have stayed there and played The European Tour. Just keep going. That was a big decision for me, like 2018, I think it was. Like guys, we're going to go back to America, we're going to give it another go, and that was a big decision.

Q. Did you get the sense when you were 48, 49, leading in, looking ahead to this, that this might be coming for you, this kind of success?

STEVEN ALKER: I believe so. You know, just hanging with the young guys around the Korn Ferry, and I still had my weeks, certain weeks that I showed some form.

But I was like, it was midway through 2020 and the pandemic happened, and let's get in shape. Let's really start to get some focus here. I saw some buddies who I grew up Korn Ferry and PGA Tour playing with have done all right, and you can't always go off that.

But they had a little bit of success. Just talking to the guys, the golf courses probably suited me. You know, control your ball, close with your wedges and you've got to putt pretty good. That was read up my alley. And I got to avoid the Tour schools, that was a bonus.

Q. Were you comfortable playing from behind in the group ahead today?

STEVEN ALKER: I was. 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.

So 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, it was -- and that all adds up to 63.

Q. What kind of business would you have started if you had given up golf?

STEVEN ALKER: Something maybe in the golf business. My dad was in the restaurant business, so open a little restaurant or something down there, that would be pretty cool. That's for down the road a little bit.

Q. You talked about how this is a team win for you. Have you had a chance to talk to your team a little bit since you've been off the 18th green?

STEVEN ALKER: Yeah, 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.

Q. Clearly seeing your emotional reaction when you talk about the names on that trophy, it's not about the money, it's about getting trophies and all that. That said, you've won more on this tour and made all those years on the other tours. Is it nice checking the bank account these days?

STEVEN ALKER: It helps. You just think of -- I've got a couple teenagers, college coming up, just take a deep breath and relax a little bit. There are so many people that have helped along the way and the support I've had has been amazing.

But yeah, it's nice to have a few dollars. For me, ultimately, to be out here and just challenge for golf tournaments, there's no better feeling than winning.

JOHN DEVER: That a major championship, though. You had already validated your decision, you had three prior wins, one last year, two this year. To win a major, that's a little extra, isn't it?

STEVEN ALKER: Yeah, and the oldest, too. It's a full field this week. Got a mix of PGA players and four rounds, players from all over the world, and just very honored. It's an amazing trophy, you see the names and you choke up a little bit. It's pretty cool.

Q. When Steven Alker is playing well, what is the one thing you feel like you're doing your best?

STEVEN ALKER: Probably just letting go and having freedom and enjoy myself out there. Enjoying the process of hitting golf shots. That's pretty neat.

Q. Was that today?

STEVEN ALKER: Oh, yeah. It was there -- I mean, I was four behind. I had some work to do. And as I said, I clicked on something last night and got back -- just stayed aggressive, conservative aggressive we were talking about, you know what I mean, and just knuckling down and just doing me. Just doing my stuff.

Q. After last night, after you were in here, it seemed like you were obviously far back. Where did you give yourself, what odds did you give yourself of being able to come back and win?

STEVEN ALKER: Still pretty good. Still pretty good. I've won a couple times this year. I still felt, you know, I think the big thing was like having dinner and sleeping on those two birdies I made, like 15 and 16 yesterday, I took that momentum into today feeling good. I could have been six back and then if you don't get off to a good start, it's just hard to make up that many shots. So I just kind of felt that before. I had that momentum from yesterday as two birdies and closed out a nice par and made a 10-footer for par on 18 yesterday. Just felt good and just freed it up today and had those good feelings.

Q. When you talked to your caddie on 15 and he told you you were tied for the lead, was that surprising? Obviously you were well under par.

STEVEN ALKER: It was probably a club change from the tee. If I had been ahead, it could have been just maybe a 5-wood or a 3-wood short of bunker and just played three shots. The pinned was still accessible. Tied, I was driving it well, just, let's go. He says, yeah.

Q. And back in the day when you talked about, you know, bouncing from tour to tour and not being sure if it would work out, was there ever a point where you really considered walking away?

STEVEN ALKER: Maybe doing something else. Getting another job. But walking away, no, I don't think so.

JOHN DEVER: Did you think there was a 63 in you today? That's the low round of the whole championship.

STEVEN ALKER: Yeah, but I mean, it seems like every week, I've been having a low round, and they are at least -- or I'll throw in a couple just together. As I said, the wind changed around but I was expecting it to be stronger, and it actually died down as the day went on.

So just tried to stay aggressive. A 63, well, you don't go out there, I'm going to shoot 63 today. It was kind of more that the golf course was maybe a little bit more gettable today it felt like just with the par 5s and some of the shorter irons on the par 4s, yeah.

Q. Are you going to Des Moines?

STEVEN ALKER: Yes, I am going to Des Moines. Just another golf course I have haven't seen. That's what I love about the Champions Tour for me just seeing all these new golf courses. It's like just a whole new chapter in my career, a new atmosphere. Yeah, it's just so much fun. The guys have been so welcoming out here, and I hope they will stay that way. But yeah, I'm just enjoying myself.

JOHN DEVER: Congratulations again, thanks for all your time this week and best of luck all throughout the summer and next month at the U.S. Senior Open.