We are officially halfway through the PGA Championship at Aronimink, and the weekend is shaping up to be an absolute treat. The leaderboard has a really interesting mix of styles at the top, and with conditions expected to continue firming up slightly over the next two days, the path to contention should become even clearer.
Alex Smalley and Maverick McNealy currently sit atop the leaderboard, but they’ve arrived there in very different ways.
PGA Championship Round 3 Bets
Smalley has been solid across the board tee to green while really leaning on a hot putter to separate himself. There haven’t been many weaknesses in his game so far, and when players start gaining confidence on these bentgrass greens, things can snowball quickly.
McNealy, on the other hand, has relied much more heavily on his short game. His around-the-green play has been exceptional through two rounds, constantly bailing him out whenever the iron play drifts slightly offline. It’s been incredibly impressive to watch, but it does raise an interesting question heading into the weekend:
What type of profile is actually going to hold up over 72 holes at Aronimink?
Personally, I still lean toward players who are consistently playing from the fairway and pairing that with quality iron play. As conditions tighten up and pressure builds, relying too heavily on scrambling can become a dangerous game.
Patrick Cantlay Top 10 +150
Cantlay has quietly done a lot of things very well through two rounds, and I really believe his combination of driving accuracy and iron play positions him perfectly for a weekend climb up the leaderboard. He’s always been one of the more controlled drivers on Tour, and on a golf course where positioning matters significantly more than people expected entering the week, that skill set becomes incredibly valuable.
The other key with Cantlay is the irons.
He can be streaky at times, but when the approach play starts trending positively, he has the ability to pile together birdie chances very quickly. We’ve also seen him consistently play strong golf in this region of the country over the years, and this setup feels very comfortable for him stylistically.
At the current number, this feels like an ideal spot for one of those classic Cantlay weekends where he quietly works his way into a non-competitive top 10 finish.
Jordan Spieth Top 10 +230
Jordan Spieth is another player who really caught my eye.
The biggest thing for Spieth this week has been the driver. When Jordan is driving the ball straight, everything else in his game suddenly becomes much easier. Historically, that’s always been the swing skill that determines whether he contends or simply survives.
Right now, he’s driving it beautifully.
Add in the fact that he’s chasing the career Grand Slam, and you know the motivation level is going to be sky high all weekend. More importantly, I loved what I saw from him on site. The body language was strong, the confidence looked real, and the overall game simply appears to be in a really healthy place right now.
He’s playing some beautiful golf heading into the weekend.
