Alex Smalley entered Sunday’s final round of the PGA Championship holding the biggest lead of his professional career.
However, one of the most talked-about stories this weekend has involved the person tracking every shot alongside him: His mother.
Maria Smalley, often light-heartedly referred to as Alex’s “momager,” has become a notable figure during her son’s surprising run atop the leaderboard at this year’s PGA Championship.
She has reportedly spent years documenting nearly every detail of his golf career, from high school tournaments, to now, PGA Tour events.
While Smalley has largely stayed out of the spotlight throughout his career, his mother’s involvement has drawn significant attention this week.
Maria, a chemist with a PhD from Duke, has reportedly tracked her son’s tournament statistics since his senior year of high school and continued doing so through his time at Duke and into his professional career.
According to a report from The Athletic, her notes go beyond simple scorekeeping.
“At every event, on every hole, and over every shot, Maria notes down Smalley’s distance to the flag, his club selection, and the wind direction,” Gabby Herzig reported. “All sorts of variables are logged if available — altitude, lie, slope.”
A discussion from 2023 at the John Deere Classic further explained her support.
“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 at the time. “It helps to keep me focused so my head’s not racing and I’m not just going crazy. Gives me something to do.”
The increased attention comes during a breakout stretch for Smalley, who entered the PGA Championship without a single Tour victory.
Before this week, his best finish in a major was a tie for 23rd at the 2023 PGA Championship.
The 29-year-old Smalley began the final round at 6-under with a two-shot advantage after shooting a third-round 68 Saturday.
It marked the first 54-hole lead of his PGA Tour career.
Smalley carded a double bogey on the par-4 sixth hole to fall two shots back of leader Matti Schmid.
At the time of the double bogey, four players were tied for second at 5-under, including Jon Rahm.