An unheralded pair of long shots,
Smalley and McNealy, lead the PGA Championship
[May 16, 2026]
By DAN GELSTON and BOB LENTZ
NEWTOWN SQUARE, Pa. (AP) — Alex Smalley's performance in the second
round of the PGA Championship defied his winless run on the PGA
Tour.
Smalley has zero wins in 140 starts on tour and was a major long
shot to win the 108th PGA Championship.
On Friday, Smalley instead grabbed his share of the PGA lead with
fellow long shot Maverick McNealy, a unheralded pair at Aronimink
unexpectedly taking the top spots on the leaderboard.
Smalley circled the Donald Ross layout like a majors veteran and
charged into contention, posting four birdies on his way to a
sensational 1-under 69, with his name popping up atop the
leaderboard.
Try as he might, Smalley could not avoid peeking at the leaderboards
dotting the course.
“I try not to, but it’s hard to sometimes because the leaderboards
are right in your face and in a number of spots,” said Smalley,
playing in his fourth PGA.
The 29-year-old Smalley, out of Rochester, New York, has never
finished higher in a major than a tie for 23rd. That came at Oak
Hill in the 2023 PGA in his hometown. But his game has been trending
upward, with seven top-25 finishes this season, including a second
with teammate Hayden Springer in New Orleans and as seventh-place
finish at Doral.
He conceded his newfound attention was taking some adjustment.
“I don’t like being in the spotlight a whole lot, so I’m still
trying to get used to playing in front of large groups of people
like there are at tournaments like this one,” he said. “Starting to
get better. But my first couple years on tour, I kind of struggled
with that. It’s a different feeling when you have hundreds or
thousands of eyeballs on you at once. It can be a little
overwhelming.”
Smalley, at a 4-under 136 through two rounds, rebounded from three
straight bogeys on Nos. 1-2-3, his back nine, with birdies at the
fourth and ninth holes.
His second shot on the fourth, from 147 yards to 9 feet for an
eventual birdie, rallied the fans around him.
“I guess it was close to going in the hole because some of the crowd
and the grandstand behind the green went a little crazy,” Smalley
said.
Smalley just might have to get used to big shots, and a bigger fan
club.
McNealy, who made an eagle and two birdies in a five-hole span, does
have one career tour victory, the RSM Classic at Sea Island Golf
Club in 2024. He tied for 18th at the Masters this year, his best
major finish.
“I didn’t feel like I played that great,” McNealy said. “I somehow
got a lot out of my game, and this is obviously new territory for
me.”
The last time the leaders after 36 holes of the PGA were no more
than 4-under was in 2012 at Kiawah Island.
Kim saves the best of last to beat the cut
Michael Kim looked to be headed home for the weekend midway through
his second round at Aronimink.
He struggled mightily over his first nine holes Friday and, after a
birdie, three bogeys and a double-bogey, was at 4 over for the round
and 7 over for the championship, sinking on the leaderboard with the
prospect of missing the cut that hovered near 4 over.
After three pars on his inward nine, the front side, the 32-year-old
from South Korea made his move with a birdies at the fourth and
sixth holes, getting closer to a cut line.
He parred the eighth and ensured his spot for the weekend by holing
out from 65 feet, just off the left side of the par-5 ninth, beating
the cut line by a stroke.
Hickory Hills' Ben Kern makes the cut as the low club pro
Ben Kern made the most of his return to what he considers the big
stage.
The general manager at Hickory Hill Golf Club in Grove City, Ohio,
was the low club professional after two rounds of the PGA
Championship at Aronimink Golf Club. The 41-year-old opened with a
74 and matched his previous event career best with a 67 Friday for a
1-over total. He was the only one of 20 club pros to make the cut.
[to top of second column] |
Maverick McNealy hits from the second tee during the second round of
the PGA Championship golf tournament at Aronimink Golf Club, Friday,
May 15, 2026, in Newtown Square, PA. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
Kern grew up in Arizona, played collegiately at Kansas State and
spent six years chasing his golfing dream while competing on mini
tours and trying Q school. Then, he decided to change direction
after he got married, entering the business. He spent 10 years in
Texas before moving to Ohio.
Making the cut guarantees a second weekend stay in the championship
for Kern, who finished 42nd in 2018 and described it as his as his
first event on the big stage.
“The game was pretty sharp that week," he said.
History is repeating for Kern in the Philly suburbs. With Hickory
Hills' club president as his caddie, he has found 19 of 28 fairways
and hit 26 of 36 greens, and offset seven bogeys with nine birdies.
“I felt a lot more freed up today,” Kern said. “Put the ball in the
right spots, and the flat stick was hot.”
His performance Friday also gave Kern confidence heading into the
weekend.
“It just tells me, it shows me, it proves to myself that I can hang
with these guys when I’m playing solid, and it was really nice.”
Garrick Higgo is on the clock
All eyes were on Garrick Higgo as his second-round tee time
approached.
A day after Higgo was penalized two strokes for being late for his
first-round tee time, the South African took no chances ahead of
Friday's second round, lingering near the dual 1st and 10th tee box
as his 12:43 p.m. time approached.
ESPN even had a countdown clock superimposed over a its video
monitoring Higgo’s movement toward the tee.
The 27-year-old made it onto the 10th tee in plenty of time and
without incident.
On Thursday, Higgo arrived on the first tee box at what he estimated
to be 30 seconds after his listed 7:18 a.m. tee time. His first
swing of the championship turned out to be his third because of the
penalty, yet he still managed a 1-under 69. Without the penalty, he
would have been among the first-round leaders at 3 under.
He struggled in the second round with seven bogeys and one birdie
for a 76, missing the cut at 5 over.
Thomas, Young and Bradley are also on the clock
The threesome of Justin Thomas, Cameron Young and Keegan Bradley
were put on the clock during the second round of the PGA
Championship.
Thomas, looking to add the 108th PGA to the titles he won in 2017
and 2022, admitted the group was a bit behind, but disagreed with
the move.
“We were behind,” Thomas said. “I think that wasn’t our issue or
being annoyed by it, it’s just the fact that we weren’t holding up
the group behind us. They were about -- it seemed like every time we
were on the green, they were on the tee and so on and so forth.”
Thomas cited the importance of the championship and the challenging
cold and windy conditions for the pace of play.
“There’s so much that goes into golf and there’s so much that goes
into hole to hole in terms of, are you hitting it close, are you
able to tap it in, or you have to mark it, stuff like that ... it’s
very hard to make that call. And we just didn’t agree with it, to be
honest.”
The group got taken off the clock one hole later.
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