NEWTOWN SQUARE, Pa. (AP) 鈥� Bring the to Aronimink for the first time in 64 years and there’s more traffic on the leaderboard than the Schuylkill Expressway at rush hour.
Alex Smalley at 6-under 204, courtesy of a superb finish when he made six birdies over his last 10 holes, and three birdies over the final four.
Right behind them is a who’s who in golf, and hardly anyone is missing 鈥� Jon Rahm and Ludvig Aberg in the group of five players one shot behind, Rory McIlroy, Xander Schauffele and Patrick Reed three shots back. after a putter-challenged round of 71.
Here’s what you need to know heading into the final round:
Who’s leading the PGA Championship?
has never won on the PGA Tour, but he sure was resilient on Saturday. He shared the 36-hole lead with Maverick McNealy and took three bogeys in four holes to disappear off the leaderboard. But he rallied for a 68.
Smalley is playing only his fifth major. He’s yet to win in 140 starts on the PGA Tour. He will try to become the first player since Shaun Micheel in the 2003 PGA Championship to make a major his first win on one of the six main tours around the world.
Who is trailing?
It’s a long list.
The five-way tie for second has Matti Schmid, Nick Taylor and Aaron Rai along with Rahm and Aberg. McNealy bogeyed the last hole and slipped into the four-way tie for seventh with major champions McIlroy, Schauffele and Reed.
Throw in Scheffler, and there’s 29 players within five shots of the lead.
How can I watch the PGA Championship?
This major will be carried by two networks 鈥� ESPN and CBS Sports.
For Sunday’s final round, ESPN+ will get it started from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m., followed by ESPN coverage from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. CBS and streaming platform Paramount+ will go from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Who are the favorites?
Smalley is now the favorite at +450, followed by Rahm at +500.
McIlroy and Aberg are at +650, with Schauffele at +1200. Scheffler started as the tournament favorite. He’s now at +1600.
What was the chatter?
Until Smalley had his big finish, it was looking as though this would have the largest logjam in the 166 years of major championship golf. There was a seven-way tie for the lead with about an hour to go in the third round. The largest group sharing a 54-hole lead in a major was five players in the 1933 British Open at St. Andrews.
From Scheffler to Aberg, players could not recall a leaderboard so bunched.
What are some of the pairings for Sunday?
Smalley is in the last group with Schmid, who players who have never won on the PGA Tour. McIlroy will be playing with Schauffele, while Scheffler gets another round with David Puig.
What’s at stake?
The winner gets the Wanamaker Trophy and a lifetime exemption to the PGA Championship, along with five-year exemptions to the Masters, U.S. Open and British Open.
For McIlroy, it’s a chance to become the first player since Jordan Spieth in 2015 to win the first two legs of the calendar Grand Slam. Scheffler winning would make him only the third player to win the PGA Championship back-to-back. The others were Brooks Koepka and Tiger Woods (twice).
Also at stake: A good finish by Puig and Bud Cauley could move them into the top 60 in the world and make them eligible for the U.S. Open.
What’s the forecast?
Mostly dry for the final round, and getting warmer with temperatures and pressure of trying to win a major.
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AP golf:
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