KIWI ALKER SETS NI LEGENDS PACE AT GALGORM
New Zealand’s Steven Alker leads after the first round of the NI Legends event at Galgorm (Photo: Getty/Staysure Legends Tour)
New Zealand’s Steven Alker leads after the first round of the NI Legends, following a superb opening 67 in blustery conditions at Galgorm.
Three birdies in a row to close out his round catapulted Alker to the top of the leaderboard on a testing day in Co. Antrim, one clear of four players including Thomas Gögele, Bradley Dredge, Mark Brown and David Drysdale.
The Kiwi arrived in Northern Ireland on the back of consecutive wins on the PGA Tour Champions, and despite a dropped shot at the first, it was soon more of the same for Alker. He reeled off seven birdies to reach five-under and take the solo lead as he seeks a first win on the Staysure Legends Tour since the 2024 WCM Mexico Senior Open.
“This is my fourth week in a row - normally three's my max - but it's great to be here and playing another week,” said Alker. “I think my game is just getting sharper as I play each week. My putting's solid, I'm driving the ball pretty well. When you do those two things, you're going to score okay.
“When you're in a stretch like this, you don't really think about it - you just focus on your process. You're playing the game, things feel good, so you try to stick to the same things and maintain them. I feel like I'm doing that pretty well - the swing hasn't changed too much over the last few weeks. So it's just about keeping those feelings, not thinking about winning - that's hard sometimes - and just going out and enjoying the game.”
Another player in good form is two-time DP World Tour winner Dredge. The Welshman has only played four events so far this season, but after three top-20 finishes and a tied sixth at last week’s Staysure English Legends, Dredge is clearly on an upward trajectory – something he attributes to a couple of significant changes to his game.
“I’m definitely trending in the right direction,” said Dredge. “I've switched to fading it off the tee. I normally draw it, but for some reason I'm hitting more of a fade than I normally would. I also had a new set of shafts go into my irons last week, and they felt a lot better.
“I’ve always been a bit inconsistent off the tee so when I was practising and looking at the numbers I just felt that this swing wasn’t going to draw the draw the ball, so I decided to just play the fade. It's meant setting the driver up differently for spin rates and launch angles, but it feels like I'm hitting more fairways, even though I'm giving up 10 or 15 yards off the tee. I think it's the right thing for me to do.”
That was certainly the case in round one as the 2023 Legends Tour Trophy winner made four birdies on the front nine, en route to a four-under-par 68 and a share of second place. “I was very pleased with my round here today,” he added. “It's a tough course in any conditions, but the wind was very blustery and very difficult to judge today - a lot of crosswinds - so it wasn't easy getting the distances right into the greens. But overall, I thought it was a fair reflection of the round.”
Also at four under is another Kiwi, Mark Brown, who has notched top-10 finishes in his last three starts, along with Germany’s Thomas Gögele and Scotland’s David Drysdale.
Home favourites Gary Murphy (+2), Cameron Clark (+2) and Damian Mooney (+3) all have work to do after round one while defending champion Markus Brier sits at one-over.
The last time the Staysure Legends Tour was on the island of Ireland, Sweden’s Johan Edfors was an impressive winner of the OFX Irish Legends at Carton House in July. That form certainly continued in round one of the NI Legends as he remarkably started birdie-eagle-birdie to reach -4 after just three holes, before signing for a two-under round of 70.
Round two gets underway at 07:45. Tickets for the event are free, CLICK HERE to register to attend.
Away from the fairways there are plenty of activities for all the family, especially at the Spectator Village where there will be a dedicated interactive zone and golf simulator, plus the Rory McIlroy washing machine challenge. Kids can also enjoy bouncy castles and mini golf over the weekend. The Spectator Village also has a Public Bar, Barista Bar and Galgorm Food Tent serving classics like stone-baked Fratelli pizzas and BBQ Castle burgers.