PHOENIX — Steven Alker pulled away from the pack Saturday with a 6-under 65 and finished with a birdie to extend his lead to four strokes heading into the final round of the season-ending Charles Schwab Cup Championship.
Alker started the day with a draw against Marco Dawson, but Dawson couldn’t keep up on the front nine and was eliminated on the back nine at Phoenix Country Club.
Padraig Harrington was trying to keep up the pace until he hit a double bogey on the 14th hole, but ended up fighting for a bogey on the par-5 final hole.
Alker was 17-under 196, four shots behind Alex Cheika, who shot a 68. Harrington and Thongchai Jaydee, who each shot a 69, were five shots behind.
Even with a big lead, Alker believes someone from the pack can make a comeback because the greens are so pure and the weather so perfect.
“Still, there’s still this idea that there’s a 63 or a 62 out there and no one knows,” he said. “So I just have to keep pushing the pedal as hard as I can.”
He did it especially well on the front nine, playing 14 under for three rounds, compared to just 3 under on the back nine.
Sunday’s $1 million prize is on the line for Alker. The winner’s prize is $528,000, the largest prize on the PGA Tour Champions, plus a $500,000 bonus for second place in the Charles Schwab Cup points race.
Steve Stricker long ago won the Schwab Cup this year with six wins (three of which were majors). He did not play in the postseason and was scheduled to play in Phoenix until his father was hospitalized in Wisconsin.
Stricker said his father was released from the hospital Saturday.
Harrington also had a chance to finish second, but his chances were ruined by three drop shots in two holes on the back nine.