Alex Smalley birdied the final hole to finish the third round at six under par with a 68, taking a two-shot lead at the PGA Championship at Aronimink Golf Club on Saturday [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]. The 29-year-old North Carolina native has no previous professional wins and is leading a major for the first time at 54 holes, marking the fifth major start of his career [6, 4, 5]. Smalley said, "I don’t like being in the spotlight a whole lot. I’m still trying to get used to playing in front of large groups of people like there are at tournaments like this one" [6].
The leaderboard is exceptionally crowded with 22 players within four shots of the lead—a record for the PGA Championship—and 43 players within five shots as the tournament heads into Sunday’s final round [7, 2, 3, 8]. Scottie Scheffler, the defending champion and world No. 1, shot a 71 (+1) on Saturday and remains five shots behind Smalley at one under par after starting tied for 23rd [1, 7, 2, 3, 4]. Scheffler said, "I’ve never seen anything like this. I’ve never seen a leaderboard this bunched up. It’s quite literally anybody’s tournament" [1, 2].
Rory McIlroy posted a four-under 66 to improve to three under, moving back into contention after a first round 74. He commented, "I feel like I still did enough to think I have a chance going into tomorrow" [1, 2, 3, 4]. Jon Rahm is among five players tied for second at four under after a 67, saying, "That was a fantastic round of golf, and thrilled to be in a good position for tomorrow" [1, 2, 3, 4]. Others close behind include Ludvig Åberg, Aaron Rai, Nick Taylor, Matti Schmid, Xander Schauffele, and Patrick Reed [1, 2, 3, 4].
Kurt Kitayama shot a bogey-free 7-under 63 in the final group Saturday to reach three under, tying the major championship record for lowest final round score [7, 8]. Pin positions and tee setups were adjusted after second round criticism, resulting in better scoring conditions on moving day and a record number of 14 players holding or sharing the lead at some point during the third round [1, 4]. At one time, seven players shared the lead simultaneously [2, 3, 4].
Smalley’s mother Maria closely tracks his statistics during tournaments, a habit since his high school days [5]. The final round of the PGA Championship is set for Sunday, with Smalley holding a narrow lead into what promises to be a tightly contested finish [7, 8].
