Smalley’s Moving Day Surprise - May 17th, 2026

On May 17th, 2026, Moving Day at the PGA Championship produced a historically jammed leaderboard, setting the stage for an epic Sunday as Alex Smalley tries to hold off a star-studded chasing pack.THE 54-HOLE LEADERUnheralded Alex Smalley sits atop the leaderboard at six-under after a clutch birdie on 18, but the pressure is mounting as he faces down a historically jammed pack of major champions breathing down his neck."I do not like being in the spotlight a whole lot so I am still trying to get used to playing in front of large groups of people." — Alex SmalleyTo help manage her own nerves on the course, Smalley's mother, Maria, is keeping herself busy by tracking his stats.THE CHASING PACKJon Rahm and Aaron Rai sit at four-under, chasing Spanish history and an English drought, while Rory McIlroy lurks at three-under after fixing his driver to unleash a massive 369-yard bomb on the sixth hole."I am doing this for myself and my country," said Rahm, while Rory noted of his monster drive, "I was not trying to hit it on the green I was just trying to get it up there it was a perfect line."To relax amidst his pursuit of Harry Vardon's 1914 record, McIlroy spent his evening unwinding by watching *The Dark Knight*.COURSE SETUP & THE PURSE ARMS RACEThe PGA of America softened Aronimink's setup, moving pins to flat spots and shortening the 13th hole to 292 yards, all while defending a massive purse increase designed to directly compete with LIV Golf.Defending the $20.5M purse ($3.69M to win) against 1962's $69.4K total, PGA of America CEO Terry Clark stated: "it is what are the factors that make sense we do look at it as an annual focus around how do we get at competitive purses."Justin Rose capitalized on the softer setup to shoot a 65, crediting a switch to McLaren irons and some "Philly mojo" from a dinner at Merion Golf Club.Quick HitsXander Schauffele (-3) is managing major "growing pains" by ignoring the leaderboard ("No need to even look... just knowing that there is going to be guys everywhere doing crazy things") • Ludvig Aberg (-4) is stunned by the traffic, noting, "I have never seen anything like it..." • World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler struggled to a 71, ending with a poor chip on 18 despite sporting a custom Philly-themed TaylorMade bag. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.