The Insperity Invitational was inspirational for Steven Alker.
Earlier this year, Alker’s caddie Sam Workman died less than three weeks removed from caddying a second-place finish in Hawaii to open the 2023 season. Workman passed away on Feb. 6 from cancer at his home in Beeville, Texas, about 100 miles south of San Antonio, a “sudden passing” according to Alker in a post on Instagram.
This week, dozens of Workman’s family and friends made their way to The Woodlands Country Club near Houston to follow Alker and root him on.
“Great support. We had a nice dinner last night,” Alker said after his round Saturday. “I think there’s some more folks from Beeville and Silsbee, so it was a good crowd out there, had good support.”
In honor of Workman this week, PGA Tour Champions players wore ribbons with the Houston Astros logo, Workman’s favorite baseball team.
The Workman gallery must have made a difference, as Alker cruised to a four-shot victory, his first in 2023.
Alker started the day at 9 under and leading by three. In his final round, he had a birdie and nine pars his first 10 holes but the field never really threatened to track him down. Steve Stricker did get it to 11 under but Alker caught fire late with birdies on Nos. 11, 12, 13, 15 and 17 to get to 15 under. He closed with a par on 18 for a final-round 66.
“It’s huge,” he said. “You can see the emotion on 18. I just saw a sea of orange today, just reminded me of Sam.”
The orange was in reference to Workman’s family and friends all wearing Houston Astros jerseys.
Alker and Workman first worked together in the Bahamas in 2019 on the Korn Ferry Tour. He was, in Alker’s words, “a motivator, a decision-maker and a fighter.”
Workman saw first-hand Alker’s amazing late-in-golf-life run to the top of the PGA Tour Champions. He was the 2022 Charles Schwab Cup after winning four times while also notching 18 top 10s in 23 starts.
Alker, who has now won the Insperity in back-to-back seasons, had his son on the bag for the first time this week, as Ben Alker made his debut as a caddie. The duo saw immediate dividends with an opening-round 66. Alker shot a second-round 69 and closed with another 66 to cap off a memorable week.
“My son was on the bag today,” Alker added. “It doesn’t get any better than that.”
