SILVIS – Alex Smalley is hoping the third time is the charm.
In his third trip to the John Deere Classic at TPC Deere Run, the 26-year-old turned his comfortability in the Quad-Cities into another good run for his first PGA Tour title.
It’s been a nice — and quick — progression for the New York native who was a Monday qualifier for the 2021 JDC.
“I feel comfortable here,” said Smalley. “I like the atmosphere of this tournament. Last couple of months we’ve had some tournaments in some big cities, and obviously Moline isn’t the biggest city in the world. So I kind of like the vibe and the atmosphere of just kind of having a chill tournament.”
He also is comfortable with things other than his golf. He and caddie Don Donatello have been together since his PGA Tour debut in 2020 and he continues to travel with this “mom-ager,” Maria.
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“We totally travel together. We’re a team,” said Maria, who also caddied for him in 2021 when he made it through the four-spotter at Oakwood Country Club. “It’s a family business for us. We’re a small closed circle. And it works for us. I do his business stuff, I do his stats. That’s what I do when I’m texting all the time. It helps to keep me focused and so my head’s not racing and I’m not just going crazy. Gives me something to do.”
Mom also had plenty of chances to cheer on Saturday as Alex matched his low pro round with a 9-under 62. His clean card included seven birdies and an eagle at No. 2 from the right rough.
The two sort of saw that round brewing.
“He’s been getting better every week, working on the things that needed work and it’s starting to come together,” said Maria. “So it’s awesome. We were sitting at the dinner table last night watching and there were so many guys who shot 8-under, I looked at him and he said ‘yeah, I can do that; I can go 8-under tomorrow.’ I said ‘you can go 10-under.’
“I had a feeling. You just know it’s coming. You just know it’s coming. He played really well at Travelers in the second round, shot 8-under there. So you know it’s coming.”
In his first Deere Run start, Smalley turned his qualifying week into a tie for 47th and his first PGA Tour paycheck. In 20022, he returned to tie for 16th and earn another $97,803.
“I would say after my first experience here in 2021, I liked the golf course. I feel like it suited me relatively well, so I would say after that year I felt pretty comfortable,” said Alex. “I was looking forward to coming back last year and playing as a PGA Tour member. Yeah, I played well.
“Yeah, I feel very comfortable here. I think it depends on the player how comfortable they feel at different venues. Obviously some guys feel comfortable on different venues rather than some other courses.”
And he hopes that comfortability pays off on Sunday as he tries to separate from a pack of 22 golfers within five shots of the lead.
“You know, there’s no right or wrong reason why that is,” said Alex of finding a comfort zone in the Quad-Cities. “So, yeah, I would say this is an event I certainly have circled on my calendar at the beginning of the year looking forward to.”
Mom likes it here, too.
“Oh, he loves it here. That’s why we came back,” she said.
For Smalley, his success has been sort of retribution for missing out on the perks afforded to young college players now. Just two years ago, he had to take a circuitous route to the Tour as opposed to a shorter trek through PGA Tour University and other avenues.
That could make a win here even sweeter.
“I would have loved that when I was in school, but it’s nice to have a lot of young guys out here,” he said.
And they are hoping this trip pays off as did his third trip to the Corales Puntacana Championship in 2022 when he tied for second.
“Third time’s a charm,” said Maria. “That’s what I’ve been telling him. I just had a feeling about this one just like I did at Corales. That was the third time we’d played that course as well. He loves it here. This is a good set-up here.”
But there’s plenty of business to handle before that happens.
“It’s hard to think that far ahead to tomorrow,” he said. “Obviously it would be very special just because I qualified here in 2021, and it helped me get my tour card. I was able to make the Korn Ferry Finals in 2021. I got my tour card that way. So this event has a special place in my heart because it kind of served as a stepping stone to that. So, yeah, any place where you win it would be great, but it would be an extra cherry on top here.”
It will be interesting to see if “mother’s intuition” comes to fruition on a memorable Sunday in the QCA.
