ALEX Smalley appears to be the man to beat after a gutsy birdie on the 18th hole on Saturday (Sunday, Manila time) that gave him a 2-under-par 68 and a two-shot lead in the PGA Championship.
But the 29-year-old can’t be that secure as behind him are some of the game’s best’s players, some chasing the title to add to their major championship haul, others eager to win their first.
Smalley thinking big
All eyes, however, will be on Smalley, who is winless on the PGA Tour, but leading the way at six under par overall at Aronimink Golf Club, where he shot four birdies in his last six holes to create a small separation from an army of contenders in a logjam not seen in a major championship.
Just try to comprehend this.
Seven players were tied for the lead one hour to go in the round. Midway through the third round, 28 players were separated by two shots. And they were not ordinary players.
Chief among the chasers is two-time major champ Jon Rahm who is tied for second at 4 under after a 67, while a shot back is Rory McIlroy who vaulted into contention after a 66.
Also at 3 under were Xander Schauffele and Patrick Reed and, while not in the bunch but who cannot be dismissed, is world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler who is at 1 under after shooting a second straight 1-over-par 71.
Scheffler, the defending champion, had his putter to blame. He missed six putts under 10 feet, four of them for birdies. It could have been worse. He made a nine-foot-putt for bogey on the 18th.
“I’ve never seen anything like this,” Scheffler told reporters. “I’ve never seen a leaderboard like this, this bunched up. Going into tomorrow, it’s quite literally anybody’s tournament.”
Rahm three-putted the final hole that marred his 3-under 67, putting him in a tie for second with Ludvig Aberg of Sweden (68), Matti Schmid of Germany (65), Nick Taylor Canada (65) and Aaron Rai of England (67).
“That was a fantastic round of golf and thrilled to be in a good position for tomorrow,” Rahm said.
McIlroy was five shots behind at the start of the third round with 29 players ahead of him. But he battled back with 67-66 after a 74 in the first round and is back with a chance to win his seventh major after capturing the Masters for the second time last month.
“I feel like I still did enough to think I have a chance going into tomorrow,” McIlroy said.
Rico Hoey, the only Filipino in the PGA Tour, shot a 1-over-par 71 and was tied at 44th, seven strokes behind the leader, at 211. He was even par at the start of the third round but bogeyed the final hole to end his streak of 70-70.
He scored five birdies against six bogeys. Two of his birdies were on the 16th and 17th.
His reward?
A final-round pairing with major winner Jordan Spieth.
EPSON TOUR: Guci shoots 68, ties for 18th
Clariss Guci fired a 4-under-par 68 Saturday and tied for 18th in the Epson Tour’s Copper Rock Championship won by New Zealand’s Fiona Xu.
Guci finished the tournament at 210, 6 under par, six strokes behind Xu who shot a closing round 4-under-par 68 to win by three strokes over three players tied at 10 under.
Guci, who has two wins since joining the LPGA’s developmental tour in 2016, took home $3,104.
Samantha Bruce tied for 25th after an even par 72 at Copper Rock Golf Club in Utah while Bianca Pagdanganan was tied for 47th, also after a 72.
Bruce was 5 under for the tournament at 211 while Pagdanganan, who recently qualified to play in the US Open, was 1 under at 215.
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