New Zealand golfer Steven Alker is on the verge of another big payday on the Champions Tour.
Alker takes a one-stroke lead into the final round of the season-ending championship as he seeks his third Charles Schwab Cup in the past four years.
The Kiwi and rival Stewart Cink, playing together in the final group of the third round, fired matching 65s at the Phoenix Country Club in Arizona yesterday.
Alker is at 17-under for the tournament with Cink at 16-under and both Bernhard Langer and Tommy Gainey at 12-under.
The 54-year-old New Zealander is seeking his 11th win on the Champions Tour, from his 98th start, and his third win of the season.
Alker entered the week ranked No 1 in the Charles Schwab Cup standings, having previously won the overall title in 2022 and 2024.
He would become just the second three-time winner of the Charles Schwab Cup, joining German great Langer (six).
Alker leads the tournament in fewest bogeys (one), and has matched his low 154-hole score (196) of the season.
— Rory McIlroy birdied three of his last five holes to grab a share of the lead entering the final round of the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai.
The Northern Irishman carded a 4-under 68 at Jumeirah Golf Estates’ Earth Course to move to 13-under alongside Denmark’s Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen (68 on Saturday).
McIlroy, 36, is looking to win Europe’s season-ending tournament for the fourth time and secure the Race to Dubai crown for the fourth straight year and seventh time overall.
Englishman Tyrrell Hatton is McIlroy’s only remaining competition in the final season standings. He is tied for third at 12-under after a second straight 67 but would need to win the tournament and have McIlroy finish outside the top eight.
Joining Hatton at 12-under are Denmark’s Rasmus Hojgaard (65), Spain’s Angel Ayora (67) and Englishmen Tommy Fleetwood (68), Laurie Canter (68) and Matt Fitzpatrick (66).
New Zealand golfer Daniel Hillier, who started the third round in a tie for second, has dropped to 17th but is just four shots off the pace.
— Allied Media / Field Level Media
