Who even are these guys at the top of the PGA Championship leaderboard?

Before this year, the record for most players at or within four shots of the lead entering the final round of the PGA Championship was 18, which was set in 1993.

“I’ve never seen anything like this,” said world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, who sits at -1. “I’ve never seen a leaderboard like this, this bunched up. Going into tomorrow, it’s quite literally anybody’s tournament.”

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Forty-one players are within four strokes of the lead. A fair number of top players are in that mix, like two-time major championship winner Jon Rahm at -4, and six-time winner Rory McIlroy and two-time winner Xander Schauffele at -3. There are also some rising stars, like Ludvig Åberg, also at -4.

But unless you’re a hardcore golf fan, there are a lot of names near the top that you’ve probably never heard, including Alex Smalley, who has a two-stroke lead over Rahm and the rest of the pack.

So, who exactly is heading into championship Sunday near the top of the board? Let’s get into it.

Smalley came into Saturday tied for the lead at -4. It looked like the moment might be too big as he bogeyed three of the first four holes, but as the round progressed, Smalley rounded back into form even on the tougher back nine holes.

He ended his round with a birdie on 18 to take a two-stroke lead heading into championship Sunday. The 29-year-old from Rochester, N.Y., came into the tournament ranked 78th on the World Golf Rankings. This year’s PGA Championship is just the fifth major he’s played in since making his pro debut in 2019.

Smalley has never won a PGA Tour title, but while in college at Duke beat Scottie Scheffler, then at Texas, in a match at the 2018 NCAA championships. While at Duke, he lived in the Wanamaker Quad. On Sunday, he could lift the Wanamaker Trophy.

“My parents and I have been joking that maybe this would be a tournament that I would win just because of that kind of fact,” Smalley said. “That’s just kind of something that we’ve joked about even before I made it out here.”

At one point during Saturday’s round, Rai was the standalone leader at the PGA Championship at -5, before he bogeyed on the final hole.

The 31-year-old from Wolverhampton, England, had his best showing at a major championship in a pair of T19 finishes, one at the U.S. Open in 2024 and one at the 2025 PGA Championship. Rai is famous for wearing two golf gloves on most of his shots, something he’s done since he was a kid after receiving two gloves as a gift. He tried later to wear just one, like most players do, but it didn’t go well.

“It was terrible. I couldn’t play, I couldn’t feel the grip, so I’ve always stuck with the two gloves ever since.” he told Golf Monthly.

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He also uses iron covers on his clubs. When Rai got his first set of nice golf clubs at age 8, his father would wash them in the kitchen sink to teach him how to take care of them.

“After practice, he would always clean the clubs with a safety pin and baby oil,” Rai told TG. “From doing that, he thought having iron covers would prevent any scratching or wearing. That’s something I’ve respected ever since.

“Although I can get another set of irons for free now, using iron covers is a reminder of where I’ve come from and what I have access to.”

Taylor shot up the leaderboard on Saturday after shooting a 65. The 38-year-old from Winnipeg, Manitoba, didn’t bogey a single hole, and moved up 28 spots to T2.

“Bogey-free round around here is no easy task, so I’m proud of that today,” Taylor said. “Stayed patient and made some great up-and-downs and really turned it into a great round.”

Taylor has five career PGA Tour wins and became the first Canadian to win the Canadian Open in 2023. He’s competed at 19 major championships, but only made the cut seven times. This is the second time he’s made the cut at the PGA Championship, and the first time since 2015.

Schmid will tee off with Smalley in the final group on Sunday after he shot a 65 on Saturday. The 2026 PGA Championship is just his fifth major, and his first PGA Championship appearance. The 28-year-old German’s best major finish was a T59 at the Open Championship in 2021. Now, he’s going to get the ultimate spotlight on championship Sunday.

“I’m definitely not the center of attention, I would say, but I still have to focus on doing the things that I have to do well enough and just focus on myself, trying to be the best version of myself tomorrow again,” Schmid said. “Hopefully it leads to a really good round, and then we’ll see.”