NEWTOWN SQUARE, Pa. —Welcome to Good, Bad and Ugly, where we will quietly pull for a nine-man playoff on Sunday, just for the chaos.
Saturday produced clear skies and a more forgiving setup from the PGA of America (more on that shortly), and when the dust settled, a whopping 43 players remain within six shots of Alex Smalley, who leads by two shots. There were plenty of good, bad and ugly moments along the way. Here’s what caught our attention:
GOOD: The PGA of America
Aronimink was already a big winner through 36 holes, thanks to its unique design and a setup that more than stood up to the world’s best players—even if at times they didn’t like it. But on Saturday the sun came out, the guardrails came down and players fired at pins all afternoon, creating optimum scoring conditions and a very fun afternoon. Was it effective?Yes, Alex Smalley is a bit of an unknown, but look at the big names lurking on and around the leaderboard heading into Sunday. This was a fun afternoon. —Jeff Ritter
BAD: Scottie Scheffler’s woeful putting
The world No. 1 had a nightmare day on the greens, burning edges all over Aronimink and losing more than two strokes to the field with the flatstick. Put another way: CBS ran compilation pieces twice of all his misses. Yet after all that, the defending champion is only five shots back heading to Sunday and can be a factor if the putter heats up. —John Schwarb
All misses. pic.twitter.com/erikLIkrwu
— Kyle Porter (@KylePorterNS) May 16, 2026
UGLY: A Saturday 82 from a Tour pro
If you heard that someone shot 82 at a PGA Championship, you’d usually then ask what club he is from. But no, that ghastly number on Saturday was fired by two-time PGA Tour winner Brian Campbell. On a day for feasting at the ’Mink, Campbell instead made six bogeys, two doubles and a triple. —John Schwarb
GOOD: Three 65s for early rabbits
Chris Kirk, Kristoffer Reitan and Justin Rose all went off around 9 a.m. Saturday and provided early fireworks to show what was possible on Moving Day with 5-under 65s. Kirk made eight birdies and came to the 18th needing a birdie to tie the major championship record (62), but a three-putt double bogey dashed that. Reitan eagled the 13th and 16th holes. Rose, in his best round yet with new McLaren Golf irons, hit 16 of 18 greens and shot 30 on the front. And all climbed to 2 under, very much in the picture heading to Sunday. —John Schwarb
BAD: Cameron Young goes backward
The Players champ came into Aronimink expected to stalk a first major title and was two shots back after 36 holes, but he shot 2-over 72 on Saturday behind a dead putter. A three-putt bogey from 3 feet at the 6th was particularly painful. He’s even par heading to Sunday and with 30 players ahead of him, the quest for a maiden major will likely wait until next month in his native New York. —John Schwarb
UGLY: Justin Thomas’s mid-round bogey run
The two-time PGA champ started the day two shots back and in the fifth-to-last group, then climbed briefly into the lead at 4 under after three birdies in his first six holes. But on the 7th he missed the fairway to the right and into rough where one could lose a small child. A hackout finished across the fairway into more rough. That was a bogey that would kick off a run of four straight bogeys en route to a 2-over 72, while rounds in the 60s were being posted all over the place. He is even for the championship and playing for a check Sunday, not the trophy. —John Schwarb
GOOD: LIV Golfers in the hunt
As we say in this space at every major, golf’s biggest tournaments serve as a referendum for LIV players. Do they get proper prep? Can they still be a factor? While Bryson DeChambeau ejected early this week, Jon Rahm is two shots off the lead and the betting favorite in some shops, Joaquin Niemann is T11 and four back with a chance for his best major finish, and Cam Smith has woken up from hibernation, also four back. Even Martin Kaymer, currently in LIV’s relegation zone, is in the massive T11 pack at 2 under. This is a very good major so far for the league that could use some good vibes. —John Schwarb
BAD: Patrick Cantlay’s back nine
The U.S. Ryder Cup stalwart is still without a major title and that won’t change this week. He had dragged himself in contention through 45 holes, when he was 2 under par, but five back-nine bogeys quickly extinguished his chances this week. On to the next. —Jeff Ritter
UGLY: Gamblers trying to wager on what happens next
We’re at a historic moment here at the PGA: On Friday night, 45 players were within five shots of the lead with 36 holes to go. And now, on Saturday night, 43 players are within six shots of the lead with 18 holes to go. Alex Smalley holds a tenuous two-shot lead, and he has absolutely no track record of holding leads in PGA Tour events, much less majors. So essentially, we’re no closer to figuring out who’s winning this thing than we were 24 hours ago. And you want to wager on it? Best of luck. A select few may make the right decision, but for the most part, this is the toughest Sunday to predict in several years. Buckle up. —Jeff Ritter
More Golf from Sports Illustrated
- A Long Streak of American PGA Championship Winners Is About to End
- A Historic Pack of Challengers Eyes PGA Title, Where Alex Smalley Leads
- Jon Rahm Finally Looks Like Himself Again at the PGA Championship
- Rory McIlroy Makes a Move on a Friendlier Saturday at the PGA Championship
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Good, Bad and Ugly PGA Round 3: Scottie Scheffler’s Putter Fizzles.
