2026 PGA Championship, Round 3 recap: Alex Smalley leads field by 2 strokes

Alex Smalley finished the day as the solo leader at the PGA Championship: 6-under par for the weekend...he shot 2-under 68 on Saturday and is ready for Sunday at Aronimink 😤

Maverick, Rory, Reed and Xander finished the third round tied at 3-under par heading into championship Sunday...the trio is three back from Alex Smalley’s solo lead.

What a final round to come at Aronimink 🤯⛳

Jon Rahm is currently in a multi-year contract with LIV Golf and he was asked how a potential victory Sunday could impact the league.

“Honestly, in a week like this, one, I’m thinking more about myself. I’m not going to take on anything outside what I can control when it comes to competing tomorrow,” Rahm said after the third round.

Jon Rahm focused on self and winning major No. 3 at PGA Championship

Forget about the future of LIV Golf. Rahm is focused on winning the third leg of the career Grand Slam.

• Rex Hoggard,

• Rex Hoggard,

Alex Smalley now leads the pack by 2 at 6-under par, he’s racked up 4 birdies on the back nine.

Finally, a little breathing room 😮‍💨, but for how long?

After bogeying four holes on the front nine, Smalley has turned up the heat with five birdies and has secured the solo lead at 5-under par 🥇🏌️‍♂️

Scottie shot a second round 1-over 71 after bogeying the final hole.

The world No. 1 currently sits at T-21, three back from the lead.

Safe to say it’s a tight race for the PGA Championship ⛳

It’s now a seven-way tie for the lead at the PGA Championship...

Tied for the lead at 4-under par:

• Rahm
• Rai
• Smalley
• Aberg
• Schmid
• McNealy
• N. Taylor

Nothing but respect from Rahm on the difficulty of the course:

Aaron Rai had himself a day at Aronimink...

6 birdies🐦 and shot 3-under 67 during the third round.

He’s currently in a five-way tie 🤯for the lead at 4 under with Rahm, Aberg, Schmid and Taylor.

This is anyone’s ball game 🏌️‍♂️

💭⛳

The second side is playing a bit extreme at Aronimink this week. Don’t believe us? Just check the math!

CBS

Chris Gotterup and Jon Rahm have tied Aaron Rai at 5 under at the PGA Championship.

Rahm has birdied two of his last three holes, while Gotterup just finished a bogey-free front nine.

Both Rahm and Gotterup have a pair of wins this season. Rahm playing for LIV Golf has won in Hong Kong and Mexico CIty, while Gotterup won the Sony Open and the WM Phoenix Open at the beginning of the PGA Tour season.

Here’s a name you haven’t heard in more than an hour: Scottie Scheffler.

A crazy afternoon of movement up and down — and all around — the leaderboard has left the world’s top-ranked player as somewhat of an after-thought.

Not anymore. Out of the bunker at No. 12, Scheffler landed within feet of the hole. He missed his birdie putt, settling for par and staying at 2 under on the tournament.

Plenty of golf left before all 72 holes are played but with as much movement as we’ve seen already today, it’s time to ask: What would a playoff look like at Aronimink on Sunday afternoon?

What is the PGA Championship playoff format at Aronimink?

Each major uses a different format to determine a playoff winner. This is what the men’s PGA Championship employs.

• Golf Channel Staff,

• Golf Channel Staff,

Matti Schmid and Nick Taylor are walking of the course at Aronimink with respective 65s.

Moving Day was exceptional for Schmid and Taylor, who tied Chris Gotterup for the lowest round of the week.

The pair sit at 4 under in the clubhouse entering Sunday’s final round, a shot above PGA stalwarts Rory McIlroy and Xander Schauffele.

McIlroy and Schauffele each are done for the day. Both shot 66 and sit T-8.

Leader Aaron Rai is playing his back nine and currently is 5 under through 12 holes.

Aaron Rai has done what seemingly no man wanted to do at Aronimink Saturday: Take the lead for himself.

Rai sunk his third consecutive birdie putt at No. 11 to move into the solo lead.

Chasing him T-2 are Matti Schmid, Nick Taylor, Chris Gotterup, Maverick McNealy and Ludvig Aberg.

13 players have shared the lead on Moving Day. Rai is the first to have claimed it for himself ... for now.

The leaderboard at Aronimink just keeps adding names.

Stephan Jaegar and Nick Taylor are the 12th and 13th players to share the lead at the PGA Championship on Saturday.

Taylor has birdied two of his last three holes.

Jaegar is bogey-free through six holes. A birdie at No. 6 moved him to 4 under on the tournament.

Like Jon Rahm did about 20 minutes early, Ludvig Åberg birdied the par-5 ninth hole at Aronimink to grab a share of the lead at 4 under.

The Swede shares the lead with Matti Schmid, Aaron Rai, and Maverick McNealy.

Rai is the 11th different player to share a lead on Saturday.

McNealy carried the 36-hole lead into the third round.

Falling out of the lead was Justin Thomas after a bogey on No. 7. He sits T-7 with a dozen others.

Xander Schauffele would like to walk away from Aronimink with another Wanamaker Trophy.

The 2024 PGA Championship winner helped his cause on Moving Day, shooting a 4-under 66 and landing T-3 on the leaderboard.

He shares a clubhouse lead with Rory McIlroy, who also shot a third-round 66.

It is Schauffele’s 14th round of 66 or lower at a major.

The Aronimink leaderboard just saw its ninth name climb into a tie of the lead on Moving Day.

The latest entry? Matti Schmid birdie at No. 16 got him to 4 under on the tournament.

He shares the lead with Justin Thomas and Maverick McNealy.

Jon Rahm bogeyed at No. 11 losing his share of the lead. Ludvig Aberg climbed into the lead a moment later to become the 10th player to share the lead Saturday.

Two-time PGA Championship winner Justin Thomas has gotten himself to the top of the leaderboard at Aronimink thanks to a trio of early birdies.

Thomas is tied at 4 under with Maverick McNealy and Jon Rahm.

JT’s Moving Day has not been error-free though. The back-to-back birdies on No. 5 and No. 6 helped undo a bogey at No. 4.

Thomas is the eighth different player to have a share of the lead today.

Rory McIlroy is in the clubhouse with a 4-under 66 after a busy Moving Day at Aronimink.

The putter helped McIlroy throughout the day, and it proved to help again on No. 18 as the six-time major winner had to convert on the greens to avoid back to back bogeys to end his third round.

McIlroy sits in a tie with 12 other players at 3 under currently. Based on where he started Thursday (104th place), he has a chance to make history if he were to win the tournament.

Nick Taylor just joined the congestion at T-3 on the PGA Championship leaderboard

The Canadian is bogey-free through his third round on Saturday at Aronimink.

He’s one of 12 players tied at 3 under currently.

Every pairing has made it off the tee.

Jon Rahm has joined Maverick McNealy atop the leaderboard at Aronimink.

Minutes after a few names (McIlroy, Potgieter, Greyserman, Smalley) were dropped from their T-1 perch, the two-time major winner birdied at the turn to complete a bogey-free front nine.

It was Rahm’s third birdie Saturday. He shot 69-70 over the the first two rounds.

Rory McIlroy’s second shot out of the bunker on the par-3 17th hole didn’t travel very far.

As a result, McIlroy tried to hole out for par but came up short on the green.

He putted for bogey and now sits T-4 at 3 under with a one hole left to play.

CBS

Alex Smalley shared a part of the PGA Championship lead heading into the weekend but felt the nerves coming off the tee at No. 1.

Aldrich Potgieter, Rory McIlroy and Max Greyserman have all played themselves into a share of the lead during Moving Day.

Smalley and Maverick McNealy maintain their co-lead at 4 under as they play through the first hole.

CBS

Congestion, it’s the name of the game at this week’s PGA Championship.

Eleven players currently share T-4 on the leaderboard at Aronimink, all one shot off the lead at 4 under.

Aaron Rai just joined that group with a birdie on six.

He sits tied with Corey Conners, Justin Thomas, Max Greyserman, Jon Rahm, Patrick Cantlay, Min Woo Lee, Ludvig Aberg, Stephan Jaegar, Aldrich Potgieter, Chris Gotterup, and Hideki Matsuyama.

All pairings are off the tee. There’s your snapshot of the chaos at 2:40 p.m. local time.

Rory McIlroy is looking for his third Wanamaker Trophy at Aronimink.

It would be his seventh major win, which would break a tie with Nick Faldo for the most amongst European players.

Those are two fairly well known storylines but ... did you know with his poor start Thursday that Rory is on track to make history?

If he wins the 2026 PGA Championship, McIlroy will best Steve Jones’ 30-year-old record for worst 18-hole position by a major winner.

The leaderboard is getting more and more crowded.

Max Greyserman just joined Rory McIlroy at 4 under. They share the lead with 36-hole leaders Maverick McNealy and Alex Smalley.

The final pairing is set to tee off in 10 minutes.

PGA Championship 2026: Round 3 pairings, tee times at Aronimink

The year’s second major continues in the Philadelphia suburbs on Saturday morning. Here’s who is set to tee off first and when the final pairing is slotted to go out at the 2026 PGA Championship.

• Golf Channel Staff,

• Golf Channel Staff,

The two-time major winner rolls in 30-footer for birdie at the fifth to reach 3 under, one off the lead.

McIlroy birdies the 11th and 13th holes to reach 4 under par. He’s 5 under on the day and tied for the lead.

With a perfect drive down the left-center of the fairway. He’s two back at 2 under.

Chris Kirk needed to birdie his final hole Saturday to match the PGA Championship 18-hole scoring record of 62. Instead, he missed the green and then three-putted from 9 feet for a double bogey. Kirk’s 65 moved him to 2 under for the championship and two off the current lead.

Justin Rose also shot 65 to reach 2 under.

Koepka eagles the par-5 ninth to reach 1 under while McIlroy makes birdie to get to 2 under.

The lead is still 4 under with the final pairing at 2:40 p.m. ET.

Chris Kirk is 6 under for the day through 14 and Justin Rose is 6 under through 13 (both at 3 under, overall). Aronimink is a par 70.

Xander Schauffele and Shane Lowry both shot 9-under 62 in the 2024 PGA Championship at Valhalla, to share the 18-hole championship scoring record.

Because there is no other defense for this:

He’s paired with Brooks Koepka on Day 3. McIlroy is now at even par.

And Michael Kim has six of them to get to T-9.

Here are the hole locations for Saturday at Aronimink: