Alex Smalley's Mom Has Become A Star During PGA Championship
As round three of the PGA Championship gets underway at Aronimink Golf Club, one of the surprise standouts in the tournament is Alex Smalley, who is hoping to win his first-ever PGA Tour event. As fans start to learn more and more about him, they're discovering that his mother Marie may deserve as much stardom as him.
On Friday, the Golf Channel did a feature on Smalley, highlighting how his mother has been so key to his success. On top of being his current stat tracker, she once even served as his caddie back when he was competing at the 2021 John Deere Classic.
In a 2023 interview for the PGA Tour, Marie Smalley explained that helping her son with his business dealings and his notetaking helps her keep her head from racing amid the excitement of watching him compete.
"I do his business stuff, I do his stats. That's what I do when I'm texting all the time on the course," she said. "It helps to keep me focused so my head's not racing and I'm not just going crazy. Gives me something to do."
Marie Smalley only recently retired as a chemist.
The PGA Tour Momma's Boy
Alex Smalley has, of course, been nothing but grateful for her presence and thanked her for being around for the highs and lows of his creer.
"She's a mom, right?" Alex Smalley said. "Any mom is going to get excited. She's been on the highs with me and on the lows."
"It only hits me every now and then," Marie said. "[In 2022] at the Scottish Open, I was walking down 16 and I just started crying. ‘Oh my God he's on the PGA Tour.' Every now and then I get that feeling."
Needless to say, golf fans are pretty excited to see Smalley potentially contend for the title.
As far as his PGA Championship run goes, he still has a long way to go. The more established veterans on the golf course have started erasing their deficits in round three and if he doesn't finish under par on Saturday, it's possible that he won't even be in the featured groups on Sunday.
But if Smalley can finish the PGA Championship with even a top-20 finish, it will be his best performance at a major and might even set him up for future opportunities to compete at the top PGA Tour events.
Smalley's tee time will be at 2:40 p.m. ET with Maverick McNealy as his partner.
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This story was originally published May 16, 2026 at 2:26 PM.