Steven Alker has won the NI Legends at Galgorm to complete a remarkable hat-trick of consecutive senior wins. The New Zealander shot another composed 67 to reach -15 and claim victory on a day of low scoring and scoreboard fluctuations in Co. Antrim.
Alker’s nearest challenger was South African Hennie Otto, who carded a remarkable 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. 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 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.
“That was really good,” said Otto, a three-time winner on the DP World Tour. “I played really, really well yesterday. I left a few out there yesterday, and the wind didn’t pick up as much today. The greens are unbelievable and if you hit it close you can make the putts. And that’s just what I tried to do.
“I’ve been playing well, although my scoring didn’t show it at the other tournaments I played this year. Patience is not my thing, everyone knows that. But I just tried to be positive on the greens and it certainly did over the last two days.”
Joint overnight leader David Drysdale had a day to forget, eventually signing for a 73 to finish at -9 alongside playing partner and fellow Scot Alastair Forsyth. Lundberg’s T5 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.
The Staysure Legends Tour moves on to Spain later this month for the European Legends Cup.