The 2026 PGA Championship at Aronimink features a tight leaderboard with 58 players within six shots of the lead after 36 holes. Maverick McNealy and Alex Smalley lead at four-under, closely followed by notable players including Hideki Matsuyama and defending champion Scottie Scheffler.
Key points
58 players within six shots of the lead after 36 holes
Maverick McNealy and Alex Smalley lead at four-under 136
Hideki Matsuyama and others closely follow the leaders
Scottie Scheffler and Justin Thomas are two strokes back
A crowded leaderboard at Aronimink Golf Club—with 58 players within six shots of the lead after 36 holes—will make Saturday’s third round of the 2026 PGA Championship all the more intriguing.
Is it anybody’s major to win? Well, actually, yes. Of the last 36 winners of the Wanamaker Trophy, all of them were within six shots of the lead halfway through the championship.
Maverick McNealy and Alex Smalley enter the weekend out front, shooting four-under 136s to grab a one-stroke edge on Hideki Matsuyama, Min Woo Lee, Chris Gotterup, Aldrich Potgieter, Stephen Jaeger and Max Greyserman. Among this pack of eight, just one has won a major previously (Matsuyama), which could bode well as the leaders come to grips not just with a difficult course but with the spectrum of a career-changing victory on the line.
However, that pressure will be ratcheted up a bit when seeing two of the names that are two strokes back at two under par. They would be Scottie Scheffler, the defending champion, and Justin Thomas, a two-time winner of the Wanamaker Trophy.
The cutline fell at four-over 144. Saturday’s third-round starting times will be released shortly. Here’s a list:
Alex Noren, +4 Jhonattan Vegas, +4 Michael Brennan, +4 Nicolai Hojgaard, +4 John Keefer, +4 Taylor Pendrith, +4 William Mouw, +4 Christiaan Bezuidenhout, +4 Brian Campbell, +4 Shane Lowry, +4 Daniel Berger, +4 Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen, +4 Elvis Smylie, +4 Luke Donald, +4 John Parry, +4
Padraig Harrington, +3 Kristoffer Reitan, +3 Chris Kirk, +3 Daniel Brown, +3 Brian Harman, +3 Justin Rose, +3 Sami Valimaki, +3 Rasmus Hojgaard, +3
Kazuki Higa, +2 Sam Burns, +2 Keith Mitchell, +2 Joaquin Niemann, +2 Tom Hoge, +2 Denny McCarthy, +2 Alex Fitzpatrick, +2 Chandler Blanchet, +2 Sam Stevens, +2 Matt Fitzpatrick, +2 Martin Kaymer, +2 Matt Wallace, +2 Casey Jarvis, +2 Dustin Johnson, +2
Jordan Spieth, +1 Rory McIlroy, +1 Brooks Koepka, +1 Xander Schauffele, +1 Rickie Fowler, +1 Bud Cauley, +1 Sahith Theegala, +1 Ryan Gerard, +1 Ben Griffin, +1 Matti Schmid, +1 Collin Morikawa, +1 Corey Conners, +1 Nick Taylor, +1 Ben Kern, +1
Ryan Fox, E Cameron Smith, E Rico Hoey, E Patrick Reed, E Haotong Li, E Andrew Putnam, E
Jon Rahm, -1 Patrick Cantlay, -1 Jason Day, -1 Aaron Rai, -1 Kurt Kitayama, -1 Andrew Novak, -1
Ludvig Aberg, -2 Si Woo Kim, -2 Harris English, -2 David Puig, -2 Scottie Scheffler, -2 Justin Thomas, -2 Cameron Young, -2
Max Greyserman, -3 Min Woo Lee, -3 Stephan Jaeger, -3 Aldrich Potgieter, -3 Chris Gotterup, -3 Hideki Matsuyama, -3