{"id":516,"date":"2026-05-17T05:04:48","date_gmt":"2026-05-17T05:04:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=516"},"modified":"2026-05-17T05:04:48","modified_gmt":"2026-05-17T05:04:48","slug":"alex-smalley-takes-two-shot-lead-but-he-has-strong-field-of-pursuers-going-into-final-round-of-pga-championship","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=516","title":{"rendered":"Alex Smalley takes two-shot lead, but he has strong field of pursuers going into final round of PGA Championship"},"content":{"rendered":"
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NEWTOWN SQUARE, Pa. \u2014 Alex Smalley kept his composure amid pure chaos Saturday in the PGA Championship, when he vanished from the leaderboard with a shaky start and when he surged back in front with sublime shots along the back nine at Aronimink Golf Club.<\/span><\/p>\n

Read more Willson Contreras\u2019s two-run homer the big hit Red Sox needed in win over Braves<\/a><\/p>\n

His voice was calm and steady after signing for a 2-under-par 68 for a two-shot lead. He recognizes the stakes and the stage for someone who has yet to win on tour.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m trying to downplay that as much as I possibly can just to make it seem like any other golf tournament, because essentially that\u2019s all it really is,\u201d Smalley said.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

One look at the leaderboard would illustrate this PGA Championship is wildly different. Fourteen players had at least a share of the lead at some point Saturday. There was a seven-way tie for the lead with an hour left in the third round until Smalley\u2019s big finish.<\/span><\/p>\n

Related: <\/span><\/span>The shameful reason the PGA Championship landed at Aronimink in 1962<\/div>\n

And he\u2019s still left with an All-Star cast of contenders \u2014 11 of them major champions \u2014 within five shots, a list that includes Masters champion Rory McIlroy and world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, Jon Rahm, and Xander Schauffele.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve never seen anything like this,\u201d Scheffler said when he finished with a 71, leaving him five shots behind. \u201cI\u2019ve never seen a leaderboard like this, this bunched up. Going into tomorrow, it\u2019s quite literally anybody\u2019s tournament.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Smalley at least gets a head start thanks to six birdies over his last 10 holes that helped him recover from the rough start to become the only player to break par in all three rounds of the tournament.<\/span><\/p>\n

His finishing kick kept this PGA Championship from having the largest 54-hole logjam in major championship history. Midway through the third round, 28 players were separated by two shots.<\/span><\/p>\n

Rahm and McIlroy were among those tied for the lead at one point. Schauffele and Patrick Reed were right behind. About the only one who failed to seize on the moment was Scheffler, who missed six putts inside 10 feet, four of them for birdie.<\/span><\/p>\n

Smalley\u2019s final birdie putt from just inside 15 feet put him at 6-under 204, two shots ahead of the group that includes Rahm and three ahead of McIlroy, Schauffele, and Reed.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe challenge can also be kind of fun if you do well. That\u2019s probably the reason why the leaderboard is so bunched up,\u201d Rahm said.<\/span><\/p>\n

Read more 7 Republicans voted to convict Trump. Most are no longer in office.<\/a><\/p>\n

It starts with Smalley, a 29-year-old who spent three years in the Wannamaker dormitory at Duke, the name on the heavy PGA Championship trophy to be awarded Sunday. He is playing only his fifth major, never cracking the top 20. He\u2019s also winless on the PGA Tour, but is coming off three straight finishes in the top 20.<\/span><\/p>\n

Key to his round was a 15-foot par putt on the sixth hole to stop the slide. He took the lead with a 25-foot birdie putt on the par-4 15th \u2014 551 yards into the wind \u2014 stretched it to two shots by reaching the par-5 16th in two for another birdie, and then had a bogey-birdie finish.<\/span><\/p>\n

Rahm had a careless three-putt bogey on the final hole that slightly soiled his 3-under 67 and was part of the five-way tie for second with Ludvig Aberg (68), Matti Schmid (65), Nick Taylor (65), and Aaron Rai (67).<\/span><\/p>\n

McIlroy began the round five shots behind but with 29 players ahead of him. He blasted his way to a 4-under 66 \u2014 his 25th score in a major at 66 or better. His target was to reach 5 under, and it looked like he might get there until failing to birdie the par-5 16th and having to scramble for bogey from a plugged lie in the bunker on the 17th.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Schauffele had a 66 and Reed bounced back with a 67, three shots behind along with McNealy, who bogeyed the final hole for a 71.<\/span><\/p>\n

No one shot better than 65, though Chris Kirk had a double bogey on the 18th for one of those rounds. Justin Rose shot 65 and was among those four shots behind.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

The leading 10 players include four major champions. Taylor saw the leaderboards across Aronimink and kept right on walking.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s so bunched, it\u2019s kind of pointless,\u201d Taylor said. \u201cI\u2019ll definitely be aware late tomorrow, if I\u2019m in that position. But with so many things going on, it\u2019s just a distraction if you start looking at it.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Smalley will try to become the first player since Shaun Micheel in 2003 to make a major his first title on one of the main six main tours in the world. A victory would also come with a $3.69 million payout.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAnybody who wants to play golf for a living dreams of winning on the PGA Tour when they\u2019re younger. I recognize that I have an opportunity to do that tomorrow,\u201d Smalley said. \u201cI recognize that it\u2019s on a stage that\u2019s a little bit larger than most other tour events.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Read more Napoleon Solo crosses the finish line first in the Preakness Stakes<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Smalley made six birdies over his last 10 holes for a 2-under-par 68.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":515,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-516","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sport"],"yoast_head":"\nAlex Smalley takes two-shot lead, but he has strong field of pursuers going into final round of PGA Championship - Boston Relocation Insider<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=516\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Alex Smalley takes two-shot lead, but he has strong field of pursuers going into final round of PGA Championship - 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