Smalleywood ending? Aronimink underdog grabs PGA spotlight heading into final round

NEWTOWN SQUARE, Pa. – Early in the morning on moving day, the load seemed light and the weather perfect for those wanting to make their way up the leaderboard at the 108th PGA Championship, and many did.

Problem for the later groups was that the wind decided to join in on the fun at Aronimink Golf Club during the third round. And while the early pairings were able to post numbers to get themselves closer to the leaders, the leaders just weren’t able to pull away all that much, as Alex Smalley overcame a poor start to finish the day at six under par for a two stroke lead over five players. Sixteen other players are within four shots or less. In other words, there is a lot that could happen on Sunday, when the temperatures are expected to be around 90 with plentiful sunshine.

Sunny and warm conditions were ideal for the first half of Saturday, and the leaderboard was as crowded as the small course has been this week. And when the later groups seemed like they may be creating some distance, Aronimink’s bewildering greens and club-grabbing roughs halted those plans. Well, except for Smalley.

Tied for the lead after Friday at three under, Smalley began his round with three bogies on the first four holes and shot a two over 37 on the front nine. But he found himself on the back nine, going for five birdies and one bogie for a 31 and, ultimately, a two stroke lead when he bridied 18.

“The wind was certainly up when we first started the round,” said Smalley, who has finished in the top 25 in his last five PGA events. “I mean, it was playing fairly difficult. Obviously I wasn’t watching coverage, so I had no idea how maybe the four or five guys, the groups in front of me, had started, but it certainly was not easy. It certainly wasn’t as easy as some of the guys had it in the morning when the wind wasn’t as strong. I was able to hit a few more fairways on the back nine, was able to take care of some of the scorable holes, I guess, if you want to call them that. But the wind died down a little bit on the back nine.

“I had a great birdie on 10, wasn’t really expecting to pick one up there, but I did. They moved 13 up today, and it was drivable. It’s still a difficult hole because it’s not very wide where the landing zone is or where that green is. Hit a great tee shot there, was able to get up-and-down. Wasn’t expecting to make
birdie on 15 either, but was able to pick another one up there. Yeah, I just tried to hit the shot as best as I could. Just tried to hit a good putt. If it went in, great. If not, I was happy with the tap-in. Just tried to keep my speed up around the hole on the putts and just tried to add them up from there.”

When others found some success in the later rounds on Saturday, either the course, the weather, or themselves halted the progression. Smalley went the opposite way as he started poorly but finished magnificently.

“Yeah, it’s a difficult golf course,” he said. “Conditions are tough. It’s been windy the last few days. Greens were a little firmer today. I anticipate it’s going to be that way tomorrow, too, just because of the forecast. It’s going to be hot. It’s going to be sunny. There’s not going to be a whole lot of moisture on the golf course, I would imagine. Yeah, any time you can shoot under par on a golf course of this caliber, under these conditions, I think anybody would take that. So I’m hoping to put up another under-par score tomorrow. I recognize that it will be difficult because the golf course is playing difficult. The hole locations are probably going to be difficult as well. We’ll just add them up at the end of the day tomorrow and see where that takes me.”

A plan was just what Rory McIlroy had coming into Saturday, as he sat just four strokes off the lead. And that plan was being perfectly played out by the No. 2 player in the world as he got himself to the top of the heap after going five under after 13. A hiccup on the par 3 17th, when he put his tee shot in the bunker, then lipped his second that plugged in the grass. He was able to get up and down to finish the day three under, just three strokes off the pace.

Yeah, honestly, I felt like, if I went out and — I had a chance to do this,” McIlroy said. “If I had to play the last three holes at 1-under instead of 1-over, I would have got to 5 (under). And I sort of thought if I could go out today and get to that, it would make the leaders shoot under par to either be with me or ahead of me. So I didn’t get there. I made, I guess, a couple of mistakes the last three holes. I feel like I still did enough to think I have a chance going into tomorrow.”

And like he was on Saturday, McIlroy will be the fan favorite on Sunday as he looks to get his second major of the year after taking the Masters in April. The opponent won’t be all the golfers that are within striking distance of taking his championship. Rather, it will once again be the Aronimink course that has held up so well during this tournament.

“And I think as well, we’re two days into the tournament, or three days now, and guys are just more — you learn the course as you go along, and guys are just getting more comfortable with certain clubs off tees or having a better idea of the greens and where to miss and where not to miss.,” McIlroy said. “I just think we all, as every day goes on, we just keep learning a little bit more about the golf course and getting a little more comfortable, and that’s what you’re seeing today.”

If they all get to be on an even playing field as far as managing the course, you would think the advantage would go to the higher ranked players of the world based on skill. But that’s now how this great game works.

“First, I’ve never seen anything like this,” said world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, who shot a 71 on Saturday and sits five strokes back. “When we were out there, I think it’s just the nature of a lot of different things, but yeah, I’ve never seen a leaderboard like this, this bunched up. Going into tomorrow, it’s quite literally anybody’s tournament. There’s a lot of guys that have a chance. Going into tomorrow, just somebody is going to have a great round, and I’m going to make sure to do my best to give myself my best shot at being the one who has a great round.”

Him and a whole bunch of others.

NOTES:
In 11 of the last 14 PGA Championships, the champion has come out of Sunday’s final group… McIlroy had his 25th round in a major of 66 or better on Saturday, Tiger Woods is the only player who has more with 28… Justin Rose, who won the U.S. Open at Merion in 2013, shot a 30 on the front nine on Saturday. It is the fourth time in the career of the 45-year-old that he has posted that score in a major… Five players shot a 65 Saturday, after only one player had done so in the first two rounds combined.