David Drysdale Joins Steven Alker Atop NI Legends Leaderboard

David Drysdale Joins Steven Alker Atop NI Legends Leaderboard

Drysdale remained bogey-free through 36 holes at Galgorm, while Alker continued his pursuit of a third consecutive victory.

David Drysdale

Scotland’s David Drysdale and New Zealand’s Steven Alker share the NI Legends lead at 10-under after the second round at Galgorm in Co. Antrim.

The pair will enter Sunday’s final round two strokes clear of Alastair Forsyth. Greg Owen, Anthony Wall, Phillip Archer and Thomas Gögele are another shot back at 7-under, with 15 players within five shots of the lead.

Alker, who opened with a 5-under 67, matched that score on Saturday. He collected three shots across his opening nine and finished with a ten-foot birdie putt at the 18th to set the clubhouse target.

“Same score but I did it differently,” Alker said. “It actually felt like I hit the ball better today than yesterday and didn’t get the result, but that’s golf. Thankfully, I made it up at the end.”

The 55-year-old is chasing a third consecutive victory after winning the Rogers Charity Classic and The Ally Challenge on the PGA Tour Champions.

“Tomorrow I’ll just try to make some birdies,” Alker said. “There are birdies out there, some par-5s to get after. That’s the plan: take advantage of the par-5s and see what happens.”

Drysdale remains bogey-free

Drysdale erased Alker’s outright lead only minutes later. Playing in the following group, the Scot struck his approach close at the last and converted the birdie to reach 10-under.

The 51-year-old is the only player yet to make a bogey through 36 holes. He has kept Galgorm’s trouble out of play while remaining patient on the greens.

“I’ve been pretty steady, haven’t put myself in too much trouble, been quite patient, waiting for the good shots and knocking a couple of putts in,” Drysdale said.

Drysdale claimed his first Legends Tour title at the Vattanac Legends in Cambodia last November. His early 2026 results included sixth place in Barbados and runner-up at the Legends Tour Trophy in Greece, although his form had dipped before arriving in Northern Ireland.

“Being tied with him is great, and I look forward to the challenge,” Drysdale said of Alker. “You just want to give yourself a chance, don’t you. That’s really the plan.”

Lower scoring tightens the field

Saturday’s scoring average was two shots lower than in the windier opening round. Owen produced a 7-under 65, matching the lowest round of the week set earlier by South Africa’s Hennie Otto.

Ballymena-born Cameron Clark gave the local support a 5-under 67. Forsyth also moved into the final group at 8-under, leaving him within two shots of his fellow Scot and the in-form Alker before Sunday’s deciding round.

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Pos.PlayerTo ParR1R2
1Steven ALKER-106767
David DRYSDALE-106866
3Alastair FORSYTH-87066
4Phillip ARCHER-77166
Thomas GÖGELE-76869
Anthony WALL-77067
Greg OWEN-77265
8Peter BAKER-66969
Robert COLES-67068
Matthew CORT-66969
11Scott DRUMMOND-57168
Steve WEBSTER-57069
Simon KHAN-57168
Greig HUTCHEON-56970
Hennie OTTO-57465
16Mark BROWN-46872
Jeev Milkha SINGH-47169
Emanuele CANONICA-46971
19Mikael LUNDBERG-37071
Cameron CLARK-37467
Bradley DREDGE-36873
Patrik SJÖLAND-37368
23Johan EDFORS-27072
Adilson DA SILVA-27072
Andrew MARSHALL-27468
Stephen GALLACHER-27369
27Michael CAMPBELL-17469
Soren HANSEN-17370
Anthony GRENIER-17469
Damian MOONEY-17568
31Santiago LUNAPar7272
Markus BRIERPar7371
Maarten LAFEBERPar7371
Van PHILLIPSPar7173
Craig FARRELLYPar7470
David HOWELLPar7173
Felipe AGUILARPar7074
Miguel Angel MARTINPar7272
39Lionel ALEXANDRE+17372
Jean-François REMESY+17372
Phillip PRICE+17273
42Keith HORNE+27472
James KINGSTON+27868
Niclas FASTH+27472
45Simon GRIFFITHS+37473
Paul STREETER+37671
47Brian DAVIS+48167
Philip GOLDING+47969
Michael JONZON+47771
50Mark FOSTER+57772
Andrew RAITT+57772
52Thomas LEVET+77873
Stephen DODD+77774
Andrew OLDCORN+77774
Joakim HAEGGMAN+77576
56Peter FOWLER+87775
57Gary MURPHY+97479
58Mark MOULAND+117580
59Ryan KARTCHNER+268684
RETDGary ORR+274-

Simon Bale

Simon Bale is the publisher of Golf Today. A low single-figure handicap golfer, he was previously a major shareholder and course reviewer for Top100GolfCourses.com for over a decade, starting in 2010. Through this role, he developed extensive knowledge of golf course design and architecture while playing more than 300 courses worldwide.

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Updated: September 5, 2026