Alex Smalley surged into the PGA Championship lead on Moving Day while Scottie Scheffler’s putter betrayed him in a frustrating third-round 71.
Alex Smalley turned Moving Day at the PGA Championship into a wild leaderboard shakeup, charging to 6 under while defending champion Scottie Scheffler slipped back during a frustrating third round at Aronimink Golf Club.
The 108th PGA Championship entered Saturday with a loaded board and plenty of big names in position to attack. Scheffler, Cameron Young, Justin Thomas and Ludvig Åberg all began the day within two shots of the lead, giving the weekend a major-championship heavyweight feel.
But Aronimink kept biting, and Saturday quickly became less about comfort and more about survival.
Smalley’s round was anything but clean early. He stumbled out of the gate at 3 over through four holes, a start that could’ve wrecked his weekend. Instead, he flipped the entire tournament with a furious back-nine response.
His birdie at the difficult par-4 15th gave him the solo lead, and he followed by reaching the par-5 16th in two before two-putting from long range for another birdie.
That made it five birdies in eight holes and pushed him to 6 under, two shots clear of the field as he headed into Aronimink’s demanding closing stretch.
It was a massive response from a player who had admitted the spotlight hasn’t always been easy to manage. On Saturday, Smalley didn’t just survive it. He grabbed control of the tournament.
Scheffler, meanwhile, couldn’t take advantage of a day when others were moving.
The World No. 1 shot 71 and dropped into a tie for 21st, three shots off the lead at the time. The issue wasn’t ball-striking. It was the putter.
Scheffler missed several chances inside 10 feet, including a short birdie putt on the opening hole that set the tone for a cold day on the greens.
He never found rhythm and closed with a bogey at 18, turning a possible statement round into a Sunday scramble.
Still, Scheffler isn’t out of it. At Aronimink, three shots can disappear quickly, especially with pressure building around the Wanamaker Trophy.
With Smalley surging, Scheffler chasing and stars like Thomas, Young and Åberg still lurking, the PGA Championship is set up for a tense final round.
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