Alex Smalley

Alex Smalley
Personal information
Full nameAlex Anthony Smalley
NicknameBiggie Smalls[1]
Born (1996-10-21) October 21, 1996
Rochester, New York, U.S.
Height6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)[2]
Weight160 lb (73 kg; 11 st)[2]
Sporting nationality United States
ResidenceGreensboro, North Carolina, U.S.[2]
Career
CollegeDuke University
Turned professional2019
Current tourPGA Tour
Former toursPGA Tour Canada
LocaliQ Series
Highest ranking41 (May 24, 2026)[3]
(as of August 23, 2026)
Best results in major championships
Masters TournamentDNP
PGA ChampionshipT2: 2026
U.S. OpenCUT: 2017, 2026
The Open ChampionshipT53: 2026

Alex Anthony Smalley[4] (born October 21, 1996) is an American professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour.

Early life and amateur career

Smalley was born in Rochester, New York, on October 21, 1996,[2] to Maria and Terry Smalley. He has one sibling, a sister named Katie.[4] His father was from Coshocton, Ohio, and his mother was from Wheeling, West Virginia; they met while attending West Liberty University. Both of Smalley's parents hold PhDs in chemistry.[5]

Smalley grew up in Wake Forest, North Carolina, where he attended Wake Forest High School.[4] He was enrolled in four AP courses and graduated with a 4.71 GPA.[6] As a golfer, Smalley won the 2014 North Carolina Junior Boys Championship and was 36th in the Golfweek/Sagarin rankings of the 2015 recruiting class. He committed to play golf for the Duke Blue Devils at Duke University, where his mother had previously earned a PhD.[4]

As a freshman at Duke, Smalley shot 68-66 to win the Princeton Invitational in April 2016.[4] In his debut at the U.S. Amateur in August 2016, he shot 7-under 133 at Oakland Hills Country Club to claim medalist honors,[7] before being eliminated in the match play round of 32 by Dylan Meyer.[8] During his sophomore summer, Smalley shot 7-under in a 36-hole qualifier to make his first start in a major championship at the 2017 U.S. Open, where he missed the cut.[9] At the 2018 NCAA Division I men's golf championship, Smalley defeated future world number one Scottie Scheffler, 5 and 4, as part of the Duke–Texas quarterfinal match.[10]

Smalley had a stroke average of 70.35 during his senior season, which was the lowest single-season average in Duke program history.[4] In October 2018, he won the Louisville Cardinal Challenge with rounds of 61-66-70 and moved to 32nd in the World Amateur Golf Ranking.[11] Smalley was named ACC Scholar Athlete of the Year in 2019 and was selected as a second-team All-American. He graduated in May 2019 with a degree in environmental science. Smalley's career stroke average of 71.32 broke the previous Duke record of 72.14 set by Ryan Blaum.[4][12]

In June 2019, Smalley won the Sunnehanna Amateur for a second consecutive year, the first to do since Rickie Fowler (2007, 2008).[13] He was selected to represent the United States at the 2019 Walker Cup in September, where he helped the United States to defeat Great Britain & Ireland at Royal Liverpool Golf Club. Smalley was the second Duke Blue Devil to play in a Walker Cup, after Dick Siderowf.[4]

Professional career

Smalley turned professional in 2019. He played the LocaliQ Series in 2020 and PGA Tour Canada in 2021. During the 2020–21 PGA Tour season, he played in four events and earned enough points to qualify for the Korn Ferry Tour Finals, in which he earned a 2021–22 PGA Tour card.

As a rookie on the PGA Tour, Smalley finished runner-up at the Corales Puntacana Championship in March 2022, one stroke behind Chad Ramey.[14] He also finished runner-up at the John Deere Classic in July 2023, two shots behind Sepp Straka.[15]

Smalley was in third place after 54 holes of the 2025 Players Championship, three shots behind the lead.[16] He shot a final-round 76 to finish tied-14th.[17] In April 2026, Smalley and Hayden Springer combined to shoot a best-ball 58 in the first round of the Zurich Classic, a team event on the PGA Tour.[18] They ultimately finished tied-second, one stroke behind the team of Alex Fitzpatrick and Matt Fitzpatrick.[19]

At the 2026 PGA Championship, Smalley shot rounds of 67-69-68 to hold a two-stroke lead after three rounds.[20] This was Smalley's first 54-hole lead in any tournament sanctioned by the Official World Golf Ranking.[21] He carded a final-round 70 to finish runner-up alongside Jon Rahm at 6-under, three strokes behind the winner Aaron Rai.[22]

Amateur wins

Source:[23]

Results in major championships

Tournament 20172018
Masters Tournament
U.S. Open CUT
The Open Championship
PGA Championship
Tournament 20192020202120222023202420252026
Masters Tournament
PGA Championship T23 CUT T28 T2
U.S. Open CUT
The Open Championship NT T53
  Top 10
  Did not play

CUT = missed the halfway cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place
NT = no tournament due to COVID-19 pandemic

Results in The Players Championship

Tournament 2023202420252026
The Players Championship T65 CUT T14 T24

CUT = missed the halfway cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place

U.S. national team appearances

Amateur

Source:[23]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "PGA Tour's Smalley meets NBC4's Smalley at Memorial". NBC4 WCMH-TV.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Alex Smalley – Bio". PGA Tour. Retrieved May 17, 2026.
  3. ↑ "Week 21 2026 Ending 24 May 2026" (pdf). OWGR. Retrieved May 24, 2026.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Alex Smalley Bio". Duke Blue Devils. Retrieved August 31, 2023.
  5. ↑ https://www.nbc4i.com/sports/pga/the-memorial/pga-tours-smalley-meets-nbc4s-smalley-at-memorial/
  6. ↑ Ryan, Shane (May 16, 2026). "PGA Championship 2026: Alex Smalley, still finding his way in pro golf, is tougher than you think". Golf Digest.
  7. ↑ Romine, Brentley (August 16, 2016). "Duke's Alex Smalley captures medal in U.S. Amateur debut". Golfweek. Retrieved May 17, 2026.
  8. ↑ "Smalley Falls in U.S. Amateur Round of 32". Duke University Athletics. Retrieved May 17, 2026.
  9. ↑ Smith, Adam (August 14, 2021). "Home again? Duke alum, Sedgefield club member Alex Smalley proving he belongs at Wyndham". Golfweek. Retrieved May 17, 2026.
  10. ↑ Hodowanic, Paul (May 16, 2026). "Five things to know: Alex Smalley, leader at 2026 PGA Championship". PGA Tour. Retrieved May 17, 2026.
  11. ↑ "Smalley enters top 35 with Louisville win". World Amateur Golf Ranking. September 19, 2018. Retrieved May 17, 2026.
  12. ↑ Wiseman, Steve (May 20, 2019). "One of Duke's best golfers ever, Alex Smalley has the Blue Devils back in NCAAs". The News & Observer.
  13. ↑ Kurelac, Josh (June 15, 2019). "Alex Smalley wins second consecutive Sunnehanna Amateur championship". WJAC. Retrieved May 17, 2026.
  14. ↑ "Chad Ramey wins windswept Corales Puntacana Championship". Associated Press News. March 27, 2022. Retrieved May 17, 2026.
  15. ↑ "Sepp Straka wins John Deere Classic with final-round 62 despite closing double bogey". Associated Press News. July 9, 2023. Retrieved May 17, 2026.
  16. ↑ Ferguson, Doug (March 15, 2025). "J.J. Spaun takes the lead at The Players Championship on windy day that wrecked rounds". Associated Press News. Retrieved May 17, 2026.
  17. ↑ "The Players Championship 2025 results: Final-round scores at TPC Sawgrass". NBC Sports. March 17, 2025. Retrieved May 17, 2026.
  18. ↑ Martel, Brett (April 23, 2026). "Fitzpatrick brothers 6 shots behind Smalley and Springer at Zurich Classic". Associated Press News. Retrieved May 17, 2026.
  19. ↑ Martel, Brett (April 26, 2026). "Brotherly boost: A dramatic Zurich Classic win by the Fitzpatricks puts Alex on the PGA Tour". Associated Press News. Retrieved May 17, 2026.
  20. ↑ Ferguson, Doug (May 16, 2026). "Alex Smalley grabs a 2-shot lead in a PGA Championship that's up for grabs". Associated Press News. Retrieved May 17, 2026.
  21. ↑ Ray, Justin (May 17, 2026). "PGA Championship Round 3: What to know as Alex Smalley hunts first Tour win". The New York Times. Retrieved May 17, 2026.
  22. ↑ Ferguson, Doug (May 17, 2026). "Aaron Rai runs away with the PGA Championship, first English-born winner in more than a century". Associated Press News. Retrieved May 18, 2026.
  23. 1 2 "Alex Smalley". World Amateur Golf Ranking. Retrieved August 31, 2023.
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