Steven Alker was pleased to still be in the mix to win his second Senior Major Championship after making a hole-in-one in the third round of The Senior Open Presented by Rolex.
The Kiwi, who won the Senior PGA Championship last year, began the day with a one-stroke lead but that was quickly relinquished as he dropped four shots in his opening three holes in demanding weather conditions at Royal Porthcawl.
Alker was six over for the day on the 15th tee when he holed his tee shot with a seven iron from 170 yards, sparking celebrations on the tee box.
“It's pretty special,” said Alker. “It was a good number. Actually, I don't know if it was a good number, it's so windy out there.
“But seven iron, hit a great shot in there. Just tried to follow the line. Yeah, it was a good shot. Sometimes hole in ones are not good shots and go in but that was a good shot.”
Back-to-back bogeys followed at the 16th and 17th but he did set up a closing two-putt birdie to card a five-over 76 that left him in a four-strong group one shot behind leader Alex Cejka.
Further windy weather is predicted for the find round along with rain, but despite the nature of the conditions Alker is looking forward to the challenge ahead.
“I think I'm just lucky right now,” he said. “I shot five over par today and I'm still in it. Just got to hang in there, and improve from where I am today.”
