NEWTOWN SQUARE, Pa. – Who is Alex Smalley, the 36-hole co-leader at the PGA Championship?

The 29-year-old has amassed a steady presence on the PGA TOUR, though he’s still searching for his first win. Could that be in a major championship this week at Aronimink Golf Club?

Here are five things to know about the unlikely name contenders at the PGA Championship.

Smalley once dominated Scottie Scheffler

Yes, you read that right. The four-time major winner was once taken to the cleaners by the golfer making his fourth major appearance at the PGA Championship.

You just have to go back to college to find it. Smalley beat Scheffler in a pivotal singles match at the 2018 NCAA Championships. And it wasn’t particularly close. Smalley never trailed and ended things on the 14th hole, a dominant 5-and-4 victory that propelled Smalley’s Duke Blue Devils into the semifinals.

As Duke coach Jamie Green told Golf Digest’s Shane Ryan earlier this week, he intentionally put Smalley up against Scheffler, knowing what he could do.

It was the highlight of an illustrious collegiate career. Smalley made history at Duke, holding school records at the time of his graduation for lowest career scoring average, lowest single-season scoring average, most top-five finishes and most sub-70 rounds.

Hitting his stride on TOUR

Those who follow PGA TOUR golf closely won’t be shocked to see Smalley’s name surface on the leaderboard. He’s maintained a steady presence on TOUR since first earning his TOUR card in 2021. He’s played at least 28 events in each of the last four seasons and has finished inside the top-80 of the FedExCup in three of them. He’s notched a runner-up finish in three of his last five years, too, including earlier this year at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans.

This year is shaping up to be Smalley’s best. He’s missed just one cut in 13 starts and entered the PGA Championship on a consistent string of strong results. His last five starts dating back to mid-March: T21-T14-T2-T7-T17.

Doing it in majors is uncharted territory, though. Smalley is making his fifth major start this week. He’s made the cut two other times, with his best finish being a T23 at last year’s PGA Championship.

Better results are a product of greater confidence, which in turn leads to more top results.

“I know I'm a good player that can compete out here on the PGA TOUR, but having some finishes that have been able to back up that success the last maybe two or three weeks has allowed me to kind of realize like, oh, okay, well I don't even, you know, I can't just compete out here, I can compete for a title,” Smalley said.

Quiet but secretly funny

Smalley’s demeanor is far from demonstrative. He’s quiet and introverted, still trying to get comfortable behind a microphone or around thousands of fans watching. In turn, the funny, dry side of Smalley is rarely seen in public.

But if you ask those around him, it’s there.

“I wish everyone could see his sarcasm, because he’s very sarcastic,” his caddie Michael Burns said. He recalled a time when Smalley didn’t take a divot during an approach shot at the Baycurrent Classic and a playing competitor asked him about it. Without hesitating, Smalley imitated the viral clip of Tiger Woods telling Scheffler he doesn’t take divots.

Burns recalls another instance at the Valspar Championship this year, when a caddie walked in Smalley’s line. It wasn’t an issue, “Alex doesn’t care about stuff like that,” Burns said. But Smalley knew it could bring out a laugh. So he stormed up to the caddie and told the caddie, “What the f–” just to get a reaction out of him.

One of the silkiest swings on TOUR

It doesn’t take a trained eye to look at Smalley’s swing and realize he’s one of the TOUR’s top ball-strikers. Smalley ranks 27th on the PGA TOUR this season in approach play.

For Burns, it’s as simple as watching the top of Smalley’s back swing. If the tempo is there, he knows the shot is going where it’s supposed to.

“One of our sayings is, let the back swing mature. That's actually stolen from Adam Scott, a video of his,” Burns said. “I don’t even have to look at the ball… if there’s that little pause (at the top), I know it’s going to be a great shot.

"I think tempo and rhythm are big parts of my golf swing," Smally said. "If I can keep my tempo and rhythm in check, I'm typically pretty good off the tee and into the green. So I've really just tried to dive into that and focus on that this year. I think it's served me pretty well."

Decorated amateur career

In addition to a strong career at Duke, Smalley amassed a very credible record in some of golf’s biggest amateur events.

Smalley was just the second player in Duke history to make the Walker Cup. He played alongside Akshay Bhatia for the U.S. at the 2019 Walker Cup and helped lead the Americans to victory with a 3-1 record in the event.

Smalley won the Sunnehanna Amateur in back-to-back years (2018, 2019), becoming the first player to do so since Rickie Fowler (2007, 2008). His 2019 win was a five-shot win over PGA TOUR University alum Garett Reband. Smalley won in 2018, beating another University of Oklahoma product Quade Cummins.

Smalley was also a medalist at the 2016 U.S. Amateur at Oakland Hills. His 7-under 133 in stroke play tied him at the time for the second-lowest 36-hole medal-play score in U.S. Amateur history (132 by Hank Kim in 1994, Gregor Main in 2011, Bobby Wyatt in 2012 and Wilson Furr in 2020).