New Zealand’s Steven Alker carded a 9-under 63 on Saturday to win the Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai in Ka’upulehu-Kona, Hawaii.
Alker racked up seven birdies to go along with an eagle at the par-5 seventh to finish at 25-under 191 in the season-opening event. He finished four strokes ahead of Harrison Frazar, who logged a 65 on Saturday.
“I got it done on the putting green for sure. I made some nice putts,” Alker said. “I knew (Steve) Stricker and Harrison were going to come at me, so just kept the pedal to the metal. I knew I had to be aggressive, stayed aggressive and just that mindset, just keep committing to my shots. Yeah, it worked out.”
Stricker, who won the eventi in 2023, shot a 6-under 66 to finish in third at 20-under 196.
“I would have needed something pretty special to catch Steve (Saturday), he played great,” Stricker said. “Yeah, so it was — I hit the ball solid. Didn’t make some of the putts (Saturday) like I should have probably, but all in all it was a good start to the year, good week.”
David Toms (65 on Saturday) finished in fourth, while Scott Parel (66) and Stewart Cink (66) landed in a tie for fifth. Darren Clarke of Northern Ireland posted a third-round 66 to take seventh.
Alker was able to start the season on a high note after winning the Charles Schwab Cup Championship last November. He believes Saturday’s victory is going to serve him well moving forward.
“I took some really good downtime, I took a good three weeks off after Champions Cup. I had a nice week before coming out here and then the game just kind of, you know, built as the week went on,” Alker said. “Having the family here and their support, and where we play, it’s a great place to start the year.”
Despite not being able to catch Alker, Frazar still turned in an impressive round, avoiding a bogey while picking up seven birdies. Stricker settled for bogey to open his round but cruised from there, sinking birdies at four of the next six holes en route to a 3-under on the front nine.
Alker’s 63 on Saturday was good enough for low-round honors.
–Field Level Media