As Alex Smalley leads the PGA, his mother's role is getting attention

NEWTOWN SQUARE, Pa. – As Alex Smalley entered the grounds of Aronimink Golf Club on Sunday, a familiar figure walked by him:

His mother, Maria.

It's becoming more and more common in the general public, I must say. Apparently Alex has known Maria for all 29 years of his life, but as the World No.

Maria is a successful chemist who got her doctorate from Duke, but has given up her full-time gig to take on a mixed role as Smalley's statistician, manager and more. He can be found just before Smalley as he plays, recording every swing. That's no doubt a strong proposition this weekend as he plays in front of tens of thousands instead of the relative anonymity of PGA Tour weeks.

On the PGA Tour, it is common for family members to attend tournaments, and many professionals have family members involved in their business or even golf swings. Two-time PGA winner Justin Thomas has worked with his father, Mike, for most of his career, as has Xander Schauffele and his father, Stefan, as has Cameron Young and his father, David, to name just three examples of many.

But you'll be hard-pressed to find a team member more present than Maria, who, after recording all of her son's cycles, uploads the data to the app for later analysis.

An Athletic The story detailed his involvement, which dates back to Smalley's competitive rounds in high school and college at Duke.

The 2023 PGA Tour interview with Maria detailed her role.

“I do his business stuff, I do his math. That's what I do when I'm writing every time on the course,” he said during the 2023 John Deere Classic, where Smalley finished tied for second. “It helps keep me focused so my head doesn't race and I don't go crazy.

So on the biggest day of his professional career, holding two majors heading into Sunday, it was no surprise to see Smalley walking alongside his mother as he hunted for his first PGA Tour victory of any kind.

After his third round, Smalley listed his on-site team this week: his coach Michael Burns (live call with Smalley's status) his golf coach (who was here Thursday), his agent Chris Kosiba (who stayed at their rental before his father's arrival), his doctor Dr. Harry Sese, his father Terry, who has been flying on Saturday mornings with Maria.

“I will try to treat it like every other night of the tournament in tomorrow's round as I usually do,” he said.

Asked about her mother's role, Smalley gave more details.

“Yes, obviously I'm very lucky to have both my parents on the team with me,” he said. “My father and I used to travel for a long time when I was young. He was the one who would take me to golf tournaments, junior golf tournaments. My mother lived at home with my sister.

“My dad is still working, so now, in the professional phase of my career, my mom has been with me. We use a math system, and she likes to keep tabs on that side of things. I make notes on my hole sheet of what club I hit, how far I hit the hole, distance of the putt, the direction of the break, all that, and she's like plugging everything into the system.

“I don't look at it that often. I don't know if he really does it, honestly, either. I think he does it a lot to a golf coach, to give him highlights like, 'Okay, he makes a lot of his putts from right to left, but he misses a lot of his putts from left to right,' maybe something like that.

“He likes to be in front of the golf course. He takes videos of me when I'm out competing. If he sees something, he might tell me later that night like, 'Hey, your tempo seemed a little fast today. How was that?' Or he'll send them to my golf coach too so he can see things.

“Yeah, that's the truth, what he does. I'm very lucky to have the team behind me to do what I'm doing. There's a handful of people on my team, and you're one of them.”

Smalley's parents live in Greensboro, NC. He lived with them in college but recently bought a house nearby, allowing him to continue playing at Sedgefield Country Club.

“Obviously I dreamed about it when I was a kid, and it's funny, [the PGA] it's the Wanamaker Cup, and when I was in college, I lived in the Wanamaker dorm for three years,” Smalley said.” So my parents and I have been joking that maybe this would be the competition that I will win because of that fact.

And if he completes the 2026 PGA Championship, they'll be there to see the joke come true.