The affable professional has hardly touched a club since missing the cut at the second stage of the United States PGA tour qualifying school in mid-November and in recent weeks he has been shivering in snow and sub-zero temperatures in Britain.
Before teeing off in today's pro-am, Alker said how much he enjoyed being back in New Zealand's warmer climate and being able to hit balls off grass rather than just putting on carpet indoors.
Alker, 38, became the first New Zealander to win the professional event at Clearwater in eight years when he won the NZPGA championship last year by two shots from fellow New Zealanders Josh Geary and David Smail, with a 15-under par total of 273.
While he came to Christchurch this week, with little practice and without high hopes, he said a lower back injury which caused him to miss some Nationwide Tour events in April had healed and he was mentally refreshed.
"I haven't got high expectations which is good, as I prefer to come in and play it low key. I'm just looking forward to playing here and this is a good build-up for next week (Michael Hill New Zealand Open at Arrowtown) as well as I'm focusing on the Nationwide Tour."
After his NZ PGA win and tied 13th finish in the New Zealand Open, Alker was well-placed to earn his card for the 2010 United States PGA tour, but the rest of the year proved disappointing. He made just three cuts in the next 16 tournaments with a best finish of 23rd.
"I've no real excuses although at the start of the year I had an injury which didn't come right until mid-May. I played well from tee to green but didn't get it done of the greens," Alker said.
"Putting is all about confidence and, to be brutally honest, I didn't have any confidence on the greens. But I've done a lot of work in the last couple of months of last year and have had a bit of time to think and work on it since."
Alker said it had always been a priority to return to defend his title.
"It's a shame it (NZ PGA) has lost its Nationwide tour status, but it's good they've kept the event going and a lot of Aussies have made the effort to come here and play."
