Buckle up. Sunday’s PGA Championship final round at Aronimink is guaranteed to be a wild ride. Seat belts required.
Sunday’s PGA Championship final round at Aronimink is guaranteed to be a wild ride.
“An absolute free-for-all,’’ is the way Xander Schauffele described the tournament as it careens into the final round. Alex Smalley, who has the third-round lead at the PGA Championship, hits his tee shot on the 18th hole on May 16, 2026. After two days of widespread player angst with what Schauffele described as “diabolical pin placements’’ coupled with whipping winds, Saturday’s third round morphed into one of the most fascinating days in recent major championship history.
That brought gangs of players into contention. But, as the afternoon wore on, the winds again cracked and played mind games with the leaders with later tee times.
Alex Smalley, a 29-year-old who’s seeking his first career win and is ranked 78th in the world, will take a two-shot lead into the final round at 6 under par after rallying from a 3-over start on his first four holes to shoot 68 thanks to birdies on six of his final 10 holes. Five players are tied at 4 under par — Jon Rahm, seeking to become the first Spaniard to win a PGA Championship, Ludvig Åberg, Aaron Rai, Nick Taylor and Matti Schmid.
Then come four players at 3 under par, including major championship winners Rory McIlroy , Schauffele and Patrick Reed , along with Maverick McNealy . Johan Rahm, who is in a five-way tie for second at 4-under, is looking to become the first Spaniard to win the PGA Championship. A dozen players are at 2 under par, including Chris Gotterup from Little Silver, N.J. , Max Greyserman from Short Hills, N.J.
, Cam Smith, who’d missed his last six cuts at major championships before this week, Justin Rose and Ben Griffin. World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, who struggled mightily with his putter Saturday, leads a group of players who are 1 under that includes three-time PGA Championship winner Brooks Koepka and Rickie Fowler. In all, there are 30 players within five shots of the lead, 22 within four, 10 within three and six within two.
“I’ve never seen a leaderboard like this, this bunched up,’’ Scheffler said. “Going into , it’s quite literally anybody’s tournament. With so many people close on the leaderboard, it’s going to take a great round. ’’Scottie Scheffler, hitting a pitch shot during the third round, said he has never quite seen a leaderboard as packed as this heading into the final round of the PGA Championship.
“Anybody who wants to play golf for a living dreams of winning on the PGA Tour when they’re younger,’’ Smalley said. “I recognize that I have an opportunity to do that. I recognize that it’s on a stage that’s a little bit larger than most other Tour events.
“I’m trying to downplay that as much as I possibly can just to make it seem like any other golf tournament, because essentially that’s all it really is. ’’ It was a wild third round Saturday, with five rounds of 65 posted after only one had been shot in the first two days.
“On Saturday, you’re just chasing,’’ Schauffele said. “You’re just trying to stay positive and give yourself a chance. It’s a jam-packed leaderboard. Come , there’s going to be 25, 30 guys within striking distance with 9 to 10 holes to play.
Rory McIlroy, who is tied for seventh at 3-under, shot a third-round 66 at the PGA Championship. McIlroy, who made a spirited charge up the board with a 66, spoke of how the PGA of America “protected’’ the golf course from yielding low scores with the setup the first two days.
“When you have a set of greens like this , you can start to frustrate people pretty easily,’’ McIlroy said. “It’s frustrating to us, but at the same time, it creates a hell of an entertaining championship. If I wasn’t playing this tournament, I’d love what’s going on this week. But watching and playing are two different things.
’’“I’m hoping to put up another under-par score ,’’ he said.
“We’ll just add them up at the end of the day and see where that takes me. ’’ Saturday on the PGA Tour is traditionally labeled “moving day,’’ with players jockeying for position to put themselves in a good place to make a final-round run. Xander Schauffele, who is tied for seventh at 3-under, lines up his putt on the 18th hole of the third round of the PGA Championship.
Scores for birdies are generally marked in red on the leaderboards, and there was so much red on the Aronimink leaderboards early Saturday it looked like they were bleeding. The rabbits Saturday, showing early in the day that there were low scores to be had, were Michael Kim, who birdied six of his first seven holes, Chris Kirk, who had birdies on five of his first seven holes, and Rose, who had birdies on four of his first six holes.
It was an all-out assault on the very golf course that had spent the first two days violating the best players in the world.
“We’re the best players in the world,’’ he said, “So, when they throw a really hard challenge at us, that’s when the top players are going to show up. ’’Alex Smalley, who has the third-round lead at the PGA Championship, hits his tee shot on the 18th hole on May 16, 2026. Johan Rahm, who is in a five-way tie for second at 4-under, is looking to become the first Spaniard to win the PGA Championship.
Scottie Scheffler, hitting a pitch shot during the third round, said he has never quite seen a leaderboard as packed as this heading into the final round of the PGA Championship. Rory McIlroy, who is tied for seventh at 3-under, shot a third-round 66 at the PGA Championship. Xander Schauffele, who is tied for seventh at 3-under, lines up his putt on the 18th hole of the third round of the PGA Championship.
Sports Jon Rahm Pga Championship Pga Tour Rory Mcilroy Scottie Scheffler Xander Schauffele
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
PGA Championship 2026 Highlights: Maverick McNealy and Alex Smalley Lead at 4 UnderThe 2026 PGA Championship at Aronimink Golf Club in Newtown Square, PA, featured ex-Stanford star Maverick McNealy and Alex Smalley as newcomers to the top of the leaderboard with impressive rounds of 67 and 69. The tight leaderboard featured seven major champions within four shots of the lead, including Scottie Scheffler, Justin Thomas, Jon Rahm and Hideki Matsuyama. Rory McIlroy was among the chasing golfers tied for 30th after a bogey-free round of 67. Cold and blustery conditions during the second round posed challenges for all golfers on the challenging course with large and steep greens.
Read more »
PGA Championship Round 3 Predictions, Picks & Odds: Big weekend ahead for Alex SmalleyFree PGA Championship Round 3 predictions and picks for Saturday, May 16.
Read more »
Alex Smalley takes 2-shot lead in a PGA Championship up for grabsSmalley kept this PGA Championship from having the largest 54-hole logjam in major championship history.
Read more »
A Historic Pack of Challengers Eyes PGA Title, Where Alex Smalley LeadsA tougher-than-expected test at Aronimink has a surprising 54-hole leader with 11 major champions and others in pursuit, Bob Harig writes.
Read more »