Steven Alker justified his pre-tournament-favourite status and produced a clutch finish to secure a two-stroke victory in the NI Legends at Galgorm.
The Kiwi, coming off back-to-back victories on the PGA Tour Champions circuit, began the day tied for the lead with Scotland’s David Drysdale having held sole possession of the first round lead after matching 67s on days one and two.
Any thoughts of it being a two-horse race were quickly dispelled as Anthony Wall, playing in the group in front, came racing out of the traps and birdied each of the first three holes to get to -10, and up ahead, Swede Mikael Lundberg, winner of last week’s Staysure English Legends, was mounting a charge.
Lundberg eventually shot an eight-under 64 to post the clubhouse lead at -11, but his hopes quickly faded as South African Hennie Otto matched Lundberg’s 64 to get in at -13.
Drysdale made the perfect start as he birdied the opening hole while Alker bogeyed, but having gone bogey-free for the first 36 holes, the Scot’s first dropped shot of the week – on the par-3 fifth – was quickly followed by another on six and which saw him drop out of the lead and he was never able to get back on level terms.
Alker shrugged off his early error to birdie the par-5 third, then, with back-to-back par-5s either side of the turn, he recorded two further birdies and added another on the 11th to get to three-under for the day.
Wall’s early charge was temporarily halted when he bogeyed the fourth, but he birdied eight, nine and 10 to get to -12, then added another on the par-3 14th to join the growing group at -13.
Ultimately, a bogey on the par-4 16th proved to be his downfall, and in the group behind, Alker smelled blood and pounced.
A delightful wedge into 16 left him just over four feet to take the outright lead and he made no mistake, and after parring 17, took a one-stroke lead to the 18th tee.
With the advantage, he could afford to layup, but he sank the final nail in the coffin with a tremendous 45-yard spinning pitch that grabbed and stopped inside three feet. The birdie made it three consecutive rounds of 67 and a two-stroke margin of victory over Otto in solo second, with Wall and fellow Englishman Philip Archer sharing third place at -12.
“It’s pretty special. It was a tough day,” Alker said afterwards. “It got pretty close there and nothing was really happening on the front nine. So to come out and finish strong on the back nine, hit the ball better and make a couple of putts. But yeah, to win three in a row doesn’t happen very often and I have to make the most of it.
“There were some really good players chasing. Wall, Hennie, those guys have played on the European Tour for a long time and I knew I had my work cut out. Out group started slow, but eventually I got going.”
After the second round, Alker admitted that he wasn’t a leaderboard watcher but he did take a peek coming towards the end of the round and that was the catalyst for his strong finish.
“I took a look at the leaderboard for the first time on 15 just to see what was happening, then it was a huge birdie on 16. Then, I didn’t have to birdie 18 and it’s always nice when you don’t need to birdie the last. To have that one-shot cushion meant the heart wasn’t going as fast.”
Ballymena’s own Cameron Clark closed out with a one-under 71 to finish tied for 17th at -4. Despite some final-round frustrations, he was thrilled to have had the opportunity to finally compete in the town of his birth.
“First of all, it was a brilliant week,” he said. “I absolutely loved it. Great venue, great golf course, great condition, but it was very frustrating today. I played some really nice golf and sort of stumbled over the line a little bit, so yeah, I’m a little disappointed.”
Damian Mooney shot a closing 76 to finish tied for 46th at +3, while Gary Murphy’s week ended on a positive with a one-under 71 to share 52nd place.
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