Steven Alker won the NI Legends at Galgorm to complete a remarkable hat-trick of consecutive senior wins.
The 55-year-old New Zealander shot another composed 67 to reach -15 and claim victory on a day of low scoring and scoreboard fluctuations in County Antrim.
Alker’s nearest challenger was Hennie Otto, who carded a 64 to set the clubhouse target at -13. English duo Anthony Wall and Phillip Archer finished at -12 while Germany’s Thomas Gögele and last week’s Staysure English Legends winner – Mikael Lundberg of Sweden – were a shot back at -11, with Lundberg matching Otto’s brilliant 64 to surge through the field.
After back-to-back wins on the PGA Tour Champions, victory at Galgorm caps a remarkable month for Alker, who also won on his last start on the Staysure Legends 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 said 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.
“The birdie on 16 was huge for me. I hit a nice 3-wood and wedged it to four or five feet. Having that one-shot cushion meant the heart wasn’t going so fast going down 18!”
BUNCHED FINISH
Alker led at the end of each of the first two days, but that didn’t last long on Sunday after he bogeyed the first and playing partner David Drysdale rolled in a 20ft curling birdie effort to claim the outright lead. And it wasn’t just Drysdale on the move early on – Anthony Wall birdied his first three holes to reach -10, where he was quickly joined by Greg Owen, Gögele and Lundberg who all had eyes on the trophy.
But as the contenders bunched up around him, Alker eventually found his rhythm with a trio of birdies around the turn to re-establish a lead that he wouldn’t relinquish. In the end it was Otto who pushed him closest with a sensational round of eight-under-par 64 – following on from an equally spectacular 65 on Saturday – that catapulted him into a tie for the lead midway through the back nine. Only a missed birdie putt on 18 prevented him from setting a more challenging target.
Joint overnight leader Drysdale had a day to forget, eventually signing for a 73 to finish at -9 alongside fellow Scot Alastair Forsyth. Lundberg’s tied fifth finish also lifted him to the top of the 2026 Order of Merit, as both he and Stephen Gallacher overhauled leader Jamie Donaldson, who wasn’t playing this week.
For all the scores from the tournament, click here.
