Alex Smalley is the outright leader at the 2026 PGA Championship. His 2-under 68 in the third round moved him to 6 under for the tournament. Matti Schmid, along with Ludvig Åberg, Nick Taylor, Aaron Rai and Jon Rahm, are two strokes behind.
Smalley’s Dream Round
Smalley spoke of dreaming of this as a kid. He mentioned staying in the Wanamaker dorm for three years while in college. Smalley joked with his parents about potentially winning this tournament because of that connection.
He acknowledged it would be pretty cool to pull it out on the final day.
Movement on Moving Day
Saturday’s play at Aronimink Golf Course saw significant movement. The lead changed hands multiple times. In total, 13 different players held the lead at one point during the third round.
Chris Kirk had an opportunity to shoot 62 but had a four-putt double bogey on the last. Rory McIlroy climbed back into contention with rounds of 67-66.
McIlroy started his comeback from four strokes on the other side of par. He spoke about needing to play the last three holes at 1 under instead of 1 over. McIlroy felt he still did enough to have a chance going into the final round.
Rahm in the Hunt
Jon Rahm was among those who topped the leaderboard in Round 3. A three-putt on the last saw him fall out of the lead. If Rahm wins, it would mark three straight major championships where the grand slam is in play.
The Philadelphia crowd reacted to every birdie and missed opportunity as the leaderboard shifted.