Alex Smalley will begin Sunday’s final round of the PGA Championship in entirely unfamiliar territory as the 54-hole leader at Aronimink Golf Club. There will, however, be one certainty for the day, that being his “momager” following and tracking his every move.
Smalley’s mom, Maria, has been at Aronimink every step of the way to witness her son grab a two-shot lead heading into Sunday’s action, and hasn’t missed a step since the now 29-year-old’s high school playing days.
According to The Athletic, Maria has been tracking his tournament statistics since his senior year of high school and hasn’t stopped since. It continued through his college career at Duke and from when he turned professional in 2019 all the way up to what could be a life-changing afternoon at the PGA Championship.
“I do his business stuff, I do his stats. That’s what I do when I’m texting all the time on the course,” Maria said during the 2023 John Deere Classic, where Smalley finished tied for second. “It helps to keep me focused so my head’s not racing and I’m not just going crazy. Gives me something to do.”
As for the stats she tracks throughout his round, they aren’t basic; they’re as detailed as notes players themselves typically take.
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Maria does not miss an event and does not miss a shot. She takes note of her son’s distance to the pin, what club he hit on the shot, as well as the wind direction he’s facing. Oh, and there are videos, too, thousands in fact, from years past.
“Luckily, I got a new phone back in December,” she told The Athletic. “Because my other one, I was constantly backing up and deleting stuff. Sometimes I go back and delete certain ones, but it’s funny, because his coach asked me, ‘Do you have anything from like, 5 years ago?’ and I’m like, yes, I do!”
In 140 starts on the PGA Tour, Smalley has made 85 cuts while earning 15 Top 10 finishes, including three runner-ups.
Sunday at Aronimink, however, will be an entirely different beast. This week’s PGA Championship marks just the fifth major championship start of his career, with his best finish coming at the 2023 PGA, where he finished in a tie for 23rd.
The story for Smalley throughout the week has been his red-hot putter as he leads the PGA Championship field by a wide margin in strokes gained: putting through 54 holes, and he’ll need the flatstick to continue to be his best friend if he wants to find the winner’s circle on Sunday.
