Alex Smalley leads but dozens enter Sunday in contention at PGA Championship
· Yahoo Sports
NEWTOWN SQUARE, Pa. – The third round at Aronimink Golf Club was wild and if you picked unheralded Alex Smalley to emerge from a logjam of a leaderboard on Saturday to take a two-shot lead heading into the final round of the 108th PGA Championship, well, it probably paid better than Napoleon Solo at the Preakness Stakes.
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Playing in the final group, Smalley, 29, bogeyed three of the first four holes to lose the lead but he hung tough and birdied four of his last six and seven of the last 12 holes to shoot 2-under 68. He’s the only player in the field to break par in each of the first three rounds.
“If you told me I’d shoot 2 under after my start,” he said, “I would’ve told you that you were crazy.”
Crazy was a Moving Day round when 14 different players held or shared the lead, including Masters champion Rory McIlroy, who was T-105 after the first round, two-time major winner Jon Rahm and Swedish sensation Ludvig Aberg. At one point, there was a seven-way tie for the lead before Smalley broke the deadlock. In all, 22 players enter the final round at or within four shots of the lead, the most in PGA Championship history.
“I’ve never seen anything like this,” world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler said.
Scheffler, the defending champion and four-time major winner, shot 71 and is five back largely due to a balky putter. He ranked 73rd of the 82 golfers in Strokes Gained: Putting on Saturday.
“If I continue to do what I'm doing and hole a few more putts, then I think I'll be in a good spot when tomorrow ends,” Scheffler said.
Other stars are lurking, including Rahm, who made his first three putt of the week at 18 on Saturday and signed for 67. He trailed entering the final round of both his major championship wins.
Rahm is tied for second with Aberg (68), Aaron Rai (67), Nick Taylor (65) and Matti Schmid (65), who played his way into the last group alongside Smalley. Neither player in the final group has a Tour victory on their resumes but in 11 of the last 14 playings of the PGA Championship, the champion came out of the final group on Sunday.
Xander Schauffele, Patrick Reed and McIlroy, who is seeking his third Wanamaker Trophy, are among the group at 3-under 207.
Cameron Smith, Martin Kaymer and Hideki Matsuyama are a shot further back. Too many names to mention still have a shot at playing spoiler on Sunday. Scheffler may have put it best when he said, “Somebody is going to have a great round, and I'm going to make sure to do my best to give myself my best shot at being the one who has a great round.”
To prevail in the City of Brotherly Love and win the Wanamaker, someone may need the eye of the Tiger.
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: PGA Championship 2026: Alex Smalley leads, dozens in contention