Steve Alker – file image courtesy of USGA

Steve Alker is just one shot off the lead at the PGA Tour Champions Pure Insurance Championship at Pebble Beach Golf Links as the 54-hole event heads into tomorrow’s final round.

Alker, who has won his last three events, two on the PGA Tour Champions and one on Europe’s Staysure Legends Tour, now has a chance to win four events in succession.

Alker is surrounded by major champions as he heads into tomorrow’s final round, with Y.E.Yang, Henrik Stenson and Ryan Moore leading at 8 under par, while tied with the New Zealander at 7 under par is two-time major winner, Zach Johnson.

Alker is playing the event for the sixth occasion, and although he has yet to win, he has been no worse than 6th in those five previous events, so coupled with his current form he is well placed to complete an amazing run.

When asked why he is on such a roll at present, Alker suggested it was a combination of forces.

“I think it’s just everything, to be honest. Everything’s just getting much sharper when you’re playing a bit more, and now back into the routine of like, I know my schedule, I know where I’m going. I think that’s the big thing. Everything’s just getting a little bit better.

“I haven’t played for 10 days before this event. I literally put my clubs away. So the mind’s fresh, the putting feels good, I’m driving it good. So yeah, it’s just all clicking, just getting a little bit better for the Playoffs.”

Playing at one of American golf’s most iconic venues is providing even greater incentive for Alker to record his first win in the event.

“Oh, it’s super special. I mean, it’s iconic, right? Just think of the people who have played here, the greats of the game. Not just greats, but celebrities here. It’s a special place. You have a lot to choose from around here; it’s not just Pebble, but I think if I had my choice of courses in this area, Pebble’s right up there with the best of them.”

Australian Michael Wright is just two off the lead and in a share of 6th place while Scott Hend and David Bransdon are  in a share of 18th place at 3 under and five shots from the lead.

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Adam Scott – just two from the 54-hole lead – file image  

Adam Scott and Ryan Fox remain very much in contention as the BMW PGA Championship heads into the final round at the Wentworth Golf and Country Club in Surrey.

Scott birdied his final two holes on a blustery Saturday for a round of 71, and at 11 under he is two shots behind the joint lead held by Italian Filippo Celli and Spain’s Manuel Elvira.

Wentworth has two par fives to finish, and Scott, who was battling at 1 over for the round when he reached the 17th tee, holed a 30-foot birdie putt before hitting a magnificent approach to 6 feet at the last. Frustratingly, he missed the eagle putt, but the birdie kept him very much a contender heading into Sunday’s final round.

“That was a grind out there,” said Scott. “I saw all these good scores up on the board, but it didn’t feel like that was really doable. It was kind of one step forward and a couple steps back out there. Very hard to get in a rhythm. Hard to feel like you had a number where you could attack.

“It felt pretty good, overall. Trusting it is hard on a day like today, especially when, you know, you might misjudge a shot here or there, especially on the wind, the direction, and it hangs far offline. It’s hard to keep believing that you’re doing the right things.

“The swing does feel good. With it being so windy today, I pulled a couple of wrong clubs off the tee, and I think that was more the error than the swing so much. It just left no margin for any error. If it’s like that tomorrow, hopefully I’ll learn a lesson, but looking forward to having a chance.

“I rate this tournament so highly. I’ve enjoyed playing here for a lot of years now, and with strong connections to European golf, I would love to etch my name into the history here at Wentworth.”

Fox bogeyed the 3rd after finding the fairway bunker from the tee but added four more birdies and a bogey for his round of 70 to be tied for 11th place, just three shots from the lead.

“It was tough, said Fox. “The wind was so gusty. Felt like I hit a lot of decent shots that didn’t end up where I thought they were going to end up. I made a couple of nice par putts to keep it going on front nine, and then when you feel like you can score on the back nine, it just became hard to hit the ball close. I’m glad I snuck one in there on the last, even though I didn’t hit a very good second shot. I’m still in the hunt, at least.

“I’m happy with how I grounded out. I think Rors (McIlroy) and I had a fairly similar round in that regard. Some scratchy stuff. Put together a decent score, and as I said, we got a chance going into tomorrow.”

Daniel Hillier recorded a solid third round of 69 to be in a share of 34th and seven shots from the lead, while his fellow New Zealander, Kazuma Kobori, is another shot back.

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Ryan Gerard – image Getty Images 

A brilliant mid-round surge by Adam Scott during his second round of the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth Golf and Country Club in Surrey to the west of London will see the Queenslander enter the weekend just two off the halfway lead held by American Ryan Gerard (pictured).

Beginning his second round at the 9th hole (caused by the logistics of accessing the 10th tee), Scott parred his first four holes before a bogey at his 5th hole had him one over for the day, but he would then unleash a run of eight birdies over the next ten holes to take the lead at 11 under par before a bogey at his 17th hole saw him finish with a second consecutive round of 67.

Scott played early on day two, and when he finished his round he was tied in the lead with Italian Filippo Celli, and it would not be until Gerard finished his round of 65 late in the day that the American would take a two-shot lead through 36 holes.

Understandably, Scott was delighted with his game and his position in the tournament.

I’m really pleased with it, actually,” said the 46-year-old, playing in his 11th BMW PGA Championship. “Early start, a quick turnaround. Took me a couple holes to kind of find the rhythm, certainly on the greens, anyway. Then I got going. Made a bunch of birdies, a few bogeys and in great shape going into the weekend.”

Scott was asked how the energy levels were holding up given a big end to the PGA Tour season.

“I feel all right, but you have to really understand that it’s getting late in the year. We played a big month to finish the FedExCup in the States. You want to be ready for a big event like this, too. I’ve had a couple of easy weeks. I felt a little underdone, probably, golf-wise coming in here, but at least fresh mentally, and I think that’s been good for me the last couple of days.

“This is one of the special events in the world. We have these major championships, and of course everyone recognises them and rates them so highly, but this sits very close to that level. I think there are so many things going for it from the golf course, but the atmosphere they create, the fans, the amphitheatre around 18, I think it’s a special, special feeling coming up there later on a Sunday. It feels like a big championship, and I’d dearly love to be in with a chance on Sunday.”

New Zealand’s Ryan Fox followed up his good start yesterday with a second consecutive round of 68 to be just four from the lead and in a share of 6th place alongside his playing partner Rory McIlory and three others. The other member of their trio, Aaron Rai, is at 9 under and just three from the lead.

Gerard has had a big year on the PGA Tour, improving from 44th to 21st in the world ranking, and although he has not won in 2026, there have been some very impressive results, including a 3rd place at the Tour Championship in August and three runner-up finishes, including at the Memorial Tournament.

“I think the course looks very similar to courses that I’ve grown up on, and I feel very comfortable with a lot of the tee shots and angles and things like that,” said the 27-year-old.

“So you know, it’s a golf tournament that you have to be prepared to play. Our job is to be prepared for that week, and I feel like the first year is kind of difficult sometimes, but second year, you should be ready to go. So I did a lot of prep last year, did some more this year, had a really good understanding of the wind and where the pins are and how some of the greens like to shape and slope and where you don’t want to be.

I’ve done a really good job of just staying patient and executing good golf shots up until this point, and hopefully more this weekend.

New Zealander Daniel Hillier is in 49th place at 3 under while Kazuma Kobori is in 64th place and on the cut line.

Fellow Australasians, David Micheluzzi, Jason Scrivener and Elvis Smylie missed out on the weekend.

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Adam Scott – file photo courtesy of Australian Golf Media

Adam Scott has made an impressive start to the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth, an opening round of 5 under 67, having the 46-year-old in a share of third place and just one behind the joint leaders, Aaron Rai and Joakim Lagergren.

Scott played in the afternoon field and day one, but tomorrow will be in one of the early groups out from the 9th tee (half of the field begin their rounds at the 9th) and so gets the opportunity to build on what has been a fine start to the US$9 million event.

Scott reached the first of the two par-5 finishing holes at Wentworth at 5 under par and seemingly in a position to either join or take the opening round lead, but at the demanding driving hole hit his tee shot out of bounds at the 17th and, in the end, did well to lose only one shot. He would, however, hit his second to the last to 5 feet, and although he missed the eagle attempt, the birdie moved him to just one of the lead.

Scott is playing this event for the 11th occasion, but in the main his record is rather ordinary for one of his standards, with just one top ten in those starts, but he is clearly playing well, and perhaps slightly easier conditions on Friday morning might see him in or near the lead heading into the weekend.

“I played really, really solid,” said Scott. “I would say for sure one of my best rounds, tee to green this year. Not really sure why, just a nice tee shot off the first, kind of calmed any nerves and then went about my business from there. It’s a nice way to play Wentworth when there’s low stress. So three to go.

“I mean, a bit more of that kind of golf would be fantastic, but I know I’m going to have to dig deep to hang in there this week. We’ve always known driving to be a strength of yours in your game, but it felt like it was particularly solid with maybe the exception of today. Yeah, it was.

“You know, I put a new driver in earlier this week. Mine kind of broke leading into here. So a new one went in and that’s working nicely. But it is the key to Wentworth. If you’re in the fairway, you can create some opportunities. If you’re not, it’s a long day out there.

“It’s a nice way to finish. It would have been great to make the putt, but it was a bit of a bit of a slider and I kind of hit it a bit too weak. But, you know, keep making swings like that. As I said, the opportunities will come. I can take a few. And, you know, to be in the mix here on Sunday would be so fantastic. It’s one of my favourite events. Love being here. So I’d love to have a shot at it.”

A massive 79 golfers are under par on the magnificent West Course layout at the completion of day one, but only six shots separate those players.

Ryan Fox played in the morning field with Aaron Rai and Rory McIlroy and was 4 under through 14 holes before a bogey at his 17th hole, then finishing off with a 12-foot birdie putt on the 8th (his final hole of the day).

Kazuma Kobori opened with a round of 2 under 70, Daniel Hillier and David Micheluzzi had 71, and Elvis Smylie, in his first event for three months, had 3 over 75.

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Ryan Fox holds his 2023 BMW PGA Championship trophy aloft

This week’s US$9 million BMW PGA Championship over the Burma Road (West Course layout) at the famed Wentworth Golf Club in Surrey, sees the return to European golf of the recently crowned Open Champion and a man who has had success previously in this flagship event of the DP World Tour.

Ryan Fox will join a field which includes Masters Champion, Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm, USPGA Champion Aaron Rai, world number four Matthew Fitzpatrick, last week’s runaway winner in Ireland, Shane Lowry, and current Race to Dubai leader Patrick Reed.

Fox won this event in 2023 when defeating Aaron Rai and Tyrrell Hatton by one shot, his most significant victory of the four standalone DP World Tour events he has won, and there will be a lot of interest as to how the 39-year-old will perform now that he is a major champion following his win at the Open Championship nearly two months ago.

Fox’s form since his win at Royal Birkdale has been below his best, but there has been a lot to adjust to, and he did make it to the Tour Championship in Atlanta, which is an achievement in itself. Interestingly, in eight other attempts at this week’s event, he has a best of 20th, another factor worth considering when assessing his chances. Fox is, though, a significantly more experienced and credentialed player than was the case three years ago.

Fox will play with McIlroy and Rai in the opening two rounds, resulting in three of this year’s four major champions are paired over the first 36 holes.

Other Australians and New Zealanders in the field are Adam Scott, Daniel Hillier, Kazuma Kobori, Jason Scrivener, David Micheluzzi and Elvis Smylie, who returns from an injury break, having last played at the Italian Open in June.

TEE TIMES


Kazuma Kobori – file image Australian Golf Media 

New Zealand’s Kazuma Kobori is in a share of 5th place at the halfway stage of the US$6 million Amgen Irish Open at the Trump International Links in Doonbeg, Ireland, the 24-year-old’s second round of 67, leaving him six shots behind the former winner, Shane Lowry, but just three shots out of second place.

Kobori, who is currently 76th in the Race to Dubai rankings, comes off an improved 9th-place finish at the recent British Masters and is pushing for a place in the top 50 in the Race to Dubai to earn a place in the DP World Tour Championship in November, the field for which he made in his rookie season in 2025.

Kobori began the day with a bogey but followed up immediately with three consecutive birdies and added one further birdie at the 10th and given his early tee time, was vying for the lead at that stage.

Lowry was out two hours after Kobori, and when he added an amazing round of 62, he was three ahead, and it would be he that the field will chase over the final 36 holes.

Daniel Hillier, who was forced to withdraw from last week’s Omega European Masters, added a second consecutive 69 to be in a share of 20th as he looks to consolidate his position inside the top 10 recipients of a PGA Tour card for 2027, the leading 10 in the Race to Dubai rankings and not otherwise exempt on the PGA Tour earn the right to play there next season.

Victorian David Micheluzzi was the only other Australasian to make the cut, finishing in a share of 47th heading into the weekend.

Kobori leads the driving accuracy statistics on the DP World Tour but has struggled a little form the tee of late although he feels he may have it worked out.

“Actually been battling a bit like maybe the last month or so, but I think we figured out what’s going wrong and, yeah, drove it well today,” said the man from Canterbury in New Zealand’s South Island.

“Just experimenting with the driver heads and stuff like that. I had a bit of a hard time adapting to the new model that Titleist brought out. But I’ve done a bit of experimenting, and I think we got to a good setup. With the driver, you want to get to a spot where you can just swing it and not really steer it all too much. So, yeah, I think we got to that point.

“ Yeah, hopefully keeping that going would be good.”

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The USA side – image Ladies European Tour

It may not involve players from our region, but there is little doubting the interest created here in the Australasian region by the Solheim Cup, which, like its male counterpart (The Ryder Cup), has developed into one of the more competitive and fascinating battles in world sport.

This week sees the 20th edition of the event between the USA and European female golfers, first played in 1990, and while eight of the first eleven encounters went to the seemingly more powerful Americans, the Europeans have balanced the ledger to a great extent by winning four and sharing the honours in five of the last eight stagings of the event.

This week, the Americans will again hold the advantage in terms of world ranking strength, but as the European Ryder Cup team has shown over the last 40 years at least, rankings on paper count for little in the fierce contest that has developed between the two teams.

Nine of the USA side are inside the top 50 in the Rolex World Ranking, while only five of the Europeans are in that category, although it is in the last few players of each team where the discrepancy becomes even more obvious in the favour of the Americans.

That the event is to be contested on what is essentially home soil for the Europeans, the partisan European crowd in Bernardus in the Netherlands will ensure some of that imbalance in rankings is reduced.

The event is played over three days, with Fourball and Foursome matches played on each of the first two days, and 12 Singles matches played on day three for a total of 28 points.

European Team

USA Team


The European side – image – Ladies European Tour 


Alker’s amazing run continues with success in Northern Ireland – image Staysure Legends Tour  

New Zealander Steve Alker has made it three wins in succession with a two-shot victory over South African Hennie Otto at the NI Legends Galgorm in Northern Ireland, an event on the Staysure (European Senior) Legends Tour.

Alker, who in the previous two weeks had won in Canada and in Michigan on the PGA Tour Champions, led after his opening round of 67 and was tied for the lead through 36 holes of the 54-hole contest with Scotland’s David Drysdale.

Drysdale’s birdie at the first to Alker’s bogey saw a two-shot swing in Drysdale’s favour, but a birdie at the 3rd by Alker and consecutive bogeys at the 5th and 6th by Drysdale had Alker back in front. A powerful back nine of 32 was enough to see off a strong challenge from Otto whose bogey-free 64 ensured Alker needed to remain vigilant over the closing stages.

Birdies at the 16th and 18th saw Alker home to win his second standalone Staysure Legends Tour event nearly two years after his first, which came at his last start on that tour.

“It’s pretty special, three in a row doesn’t happen very often, so you’ve got to make the most of it,” Alker told the Staysure Legends Tour after his two-stroke victory.

“It was a tough day — it got pretty close. The front nine, nothing was really happening, so to finish strong on the back nine, just hitting some better shots and making a couple of putts. That was really nice. There were some good players up there, guys who’ve played on the European Tour for a long time, so I knew I had my work cut out.

“The birdie on 16 was huge for me. I hit a nice 3-wood and wedged it to four or five feet. That meant I didn’t have to birdie 18 — it’s always nice when you don’t need to birdie the last. Having that one-shot cushion meant the heart wasn’t going as fast. It was nice to have that feeling.

“I’ve had a blast on the Staysure Legends Tour this week — always do when we come over here. My wife and I stayed in the hotel, it’s been a special week for us, and one we’ll remember for a long time.”

Alker’s next appearance is likely to be at the Pure Insurance Championship at Pebble Beach Golf Links in ten days where he has regularly finished inside the top 5.

Mark Brown 17th and Michael Campbell 21st were the next best of the New Zealanders in the field.

RESULTS


Min Woo Lee – file image courtesy of Australian Golf Media

Australian Min Woo Lee has completed the FedEx Cup year in style with weekend rounds of 66 and 68 to finish in a share of 4th place in the lucrative event, winning US$1.7 million in the process and finishing the season in 4th place in the FedEx Cup standings.

Lee, who led after round one but struggled a to a round of 73 on day two rebounded with rounds of 66 and 68 to share 4th place, missed a 10 foot eagle putt at the last which would have made a huge difference to his take but either way it was an impressive and rewarding week for Lee who finishes the season as the leading Australasian with a lot of financial and scheduling rewards for his efforts.

Adam Scott was very much in line to be the leading Australasian, but after reaching 13 under and within striking distance of the then leaders, Scottie Scheffler and Viktor Hovland through eleven holes, he would drop three shots on the way home and eventually finish in a three-way share of 11th place and a cheque for US$660,000.

Ryan Fox began the tournament well, but a final round of 74 proved costly, although just making it to Atlanta provides all sorts of benefits in terms of scheduling rewards and others. Fox finished 26th of the original 30 starters and earned US$375,000.

The tournament and the FedEx Cup were deservedly won by Scottie Scheffler, who, after beginning the final round three shots adrift of Viktor Hovland, produced a final round of 66 to Hovland’s 72 to win by three with Ryan Gerard another shot back in third place.

It was Scheffler’s 22nd PGA Tour victory since his first in 2021, accumulating more than US130 million in the process.

“I felt like my thought process going into the postseason this year was I felt like maybe I’ve underperformed in some of the postseasons in the past,” said Scheffler.  “I think of years like ’22 and ’23 where I had a lead at this tournament and wasn’t able to win the FedExCup or a playoff event those years.

“To come in this year maybe not winning the tournaments that I could have won throughout the regular season, to come in and win 2 out of 3 playoff events is definitely a nice way to finish off the season.

“That was definitely my motto going into the playoffs. Maybe in years I’ve underperformed in the postseason, and maybe this is a year I’ll perform better in the postseason than I have in the regular season.

“I think just playing tournament golf, I think is a battle as a whole. I think that’s part of why I love it too. I get to play against the course, myself. You have to learn how to handle your emotions, handle pressure, not take days off. That’s something I’m very proud of.

“I feel like I hold myself to a high standard, which I think sometimes can be good and bad. I feel like at times I probably could be a bit of a pain to be around when things aren’t going the way they should. I don’t feel like I take days off. I’m highly competitive, and I’m very proud of being able to have the consistent results I’ve had over the years.

“I feel like it’s something that’s very difficult to do, and it’s something that I’m very proud of. I don’t take tournaments off. I don’t take days off during tournaments. I try to give it my all each and every day. I feel like it’s a gift to play out here on the PGA TOUR, and don’t want to take it for granted.

“I don’t want to look back at the end of my career and feel like I could have done more in order to play well. I want to be able to tell myself when I hang it up that I did everything I could. I feel like years like this kind of show that to myself, how important that is. Yeah, I don’t know how to elaborate beyond that.”

RESULTS

 

 

 


Steve Alker – image courtesy of PGA Tour Champions

Steve Alker has today won his 13th PGA Tour Champions event with a three-shot victory at the Ally Championship at the Warwick Hills Golf and Country Club in Grand Blanc, Michigan, his third win of season 2026, and his second victory in succession following his win in Canada last week.

In five starts in this event, Alker has now recorded a win and two top 3 finishes, highlighting his affinity with the Warwick Hills layout.

Alker began the final round two shots behind Californian Michael Block but quickly gathered him in with an outward nine of 34 to Block’s 37, and as he headed into his final nine holes the 55-year-old New Zealander was tied with Retief Goosen, who was playing over and hour ahead on the golf course and was 8 under for the day through 12 holes.

Goosen however, was unable to build on his stunning start to the day, and when Alker birdied four holes in succession in the middle of his back nine, it was a case of just how many he would win by.

The momentum would slow for Alker also, but he had done enough to win by three over Goosen, with Stewart Cink, Greg Chalmers and the aforementioned Block sharing 3rd place another shot back and tied for 3rd.

Alker remains in third position in the Charles Schwab Cup standings and takes his season earnings to US1,725 million and career earnings to US$14,640,000.

Alker talked after his win about the prospect of challenging for the Charles Schwab Cup once again which he has won twice and finished runner-up on two occasions; “Yeah, you know what? Yeah, I’m still here, but I’ve got a lot of work to do. I mean, if I can just hang around and sneak in there, those double points in the Playoffs, who knows? Just get something going. But Stewart (Cink) and Zach (Johnson) are having great years. I mean, they’re going to be super tough to beat.

Australian left-hander Chalmers recorded his equal best finish of the season to improve to 35th in the Charles Schwab Cup standings, the 52-year-old in his third season on the PGA Tour Champions.

Michael Wright was the next best of the Australasians when he finished in a share of 14th.

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