Two unlikely names sit at the top of the PGA Championship 2026 leaderboard heading into the weekend at Aronimink Golf Club.
Alex Smalley and Maverick McNealy share the halfway lead at 4-under 136, the highest 36-hole score to lead the PGA Championship since 2012 at Kiawah Island. Smalley carded a 1-under 69 while McNealy fired a 67, highlighted by a holed bunker shot for eagle on the par-5 16th.
“This is unfamiliar territory for me,” McNealy said.
Here is the thing though. Nobody is out of it.
Seven major champions sit within four shots of the lead, including Scottie Scheffler, Justin Thomas, Jon Rahm, and Hideki Matsuyama. The difference between first and last among those who made the cut was just eight shots, unusually tight for a major championship.
Rory McIlroy, the Masters champion, is tied 30th after a bogey-free 67 but sits just five shots back. He opened with a 74 but kept himself firmly in contention.
“You get on a run with wedges on that front nine and you shoot 4, 5 under and all of a sudden you’re right in the thick of things” McIlroy said.
Scheffler, Thomas, and Cameron Young are tied at 2-under 138, two shots off the pace. Chris Gotterup posted the low round of the week with a 65 despite brutal morning conditions. Ludvig Aberg shot a 66 to join the chasing pack.
Bryson DeChambeau missed the cut after going 10-over at one point, closing with three late birdies that came too late.
With the leaderboard tightly bunched, the PGA Championship 2026 is wide open heading into moving day.
