Alex Smalley back in position to win at Colonial after runner-up finish at PGA

FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — Alex Smalley was right back in a position to win at the Charles Schwab Challenge at Colonial two weeks after the third-round leader at the PGA Championship settled for second place.

Smalley, still seeking his first PGA Tour victory, had one of a bevy of bogey-free 5-under 65s on Thursday and was one of 12 players a shot behind six first-round leaders.

Lee Hodges, among those who had to sit through a two-hour weather delay during his round, finished with a bogey at the par-4 ninth. He was at 64 along with reigning U.S. Open champion J.J. Spaun, Ryan Gerard, Andrew Putnam, Tom Kim and Matt McCarty, who birdied No. 9 two groups ahead of Hodges.

It's the second-most leaders after 18 holes at Colonial behind the eight atop the leaderboard in 2022.

Keegan Bradley, Brian Harman, Jordan Smith, Ricky Castillo and Luke Clanton matched Smalley with five birdies and no bogeys. The other six players at 5 under included 2019 U.S. Open champion Gary Woodland and eight-time tour winner Billy Horschel.

There were another 13 players at 4 under, putting 31 players within two shots of the lead at Hogan's Alley. Defending champion Ben Griffin, whose won three times last year, was 2 under.

“It’s one of my favorite courses we play all year because I don’t think there’s any one person that it caters to,” Hodges said. “You don’t have to bomb it. You’ve got to have your whole game here. I think it’s a great test of golf.”

Smalley finished three shots behind Aaron Rai at the PGA, tied with Jon Rahm after leading by two through 54 holes. The Duke alum spent the next few days focused more on travel plans for the U.S. Open and British Open than his return to Texas.

Smalley found that his Lone Star State vibe is still a good one. He is on a six-tournament run of finishing 21st or better. The first two were in Houston and San Antonio, followed by a tie for second in the team event in New Orleans.

The PGA finish matched that career best, and Smalley finally picked up a golf club again last Thursday, then picked up where he left off at Colonial. Four of his five birdie putts were inside 5 feet, including a 134-yard approach to inside a foot at the par-4 15th.

Colonial is tough when it's dry and windy, but it's neither right now in North Texas. Plenty of recent rain has been accompanied by calm winds.

“We would throw grass up and it was kind of coming right back down to our feet,” Smalley said. “So definitely more of the scorable conditions I’ve seen around here, but still not an easy golf course. To have no bogeys on the scorecard anywhere is nice, especially here.”

Kim, a South Korea native who lives in Dallas, is the closest thing to a hometown favorite with top-ranked Scottie Scheffler and Jordan Spieth skipping Colonial for the first time since the Dallas residents became household names. Both cited busy schedules.

Kim twice had the lead by himself at 7 under, but bogeyed the par-4 fifth and followed a birdie at the sixth hole with another bogey at No. 7, his 16th.

Hodges went in front with five birdies in a six-hole stretch to start his back nine, but he had to punch out of the rough at No. 9 and ended up missing a long par putt.

Gerard made all 17 of his putts inside 15 feet, finishing with eight birdies and two bogeys. Putnam's bogey-free round included four birdies over his final eight holes, which were on the front nine.

“It was nice to get a couple putts to go in,” said Gerard, whose only tour victory came at last year's Barracuda Championship, seven years after Putnam's only tour win at the same event. “I know the stats are probably going to lean more putting, but I’ve been hitting my driver really well.”

Harman, the 2023 British Open champion playing Colonial for the 13th consecutive year and 14th time in 15 years, ran off third birdies over four holes early and had two more on the first three holes of his back nine.

“I love playing golf in Texas, man,” said Harman, who has two top 10s at Colonial. “I love this weather. I like it hot. I like the course a lot. It’s holding up pretty good for itself. The greens are soft and the scores are still, there’s nothing crazy out there.”

AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf

A sign announces that play has been delayed due to inclement weather during the first round of the Charles Schwab Challenge golf tournament at Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas, Thursday, May 28, 2026. (AP Photo/LM Otero)

Brian Harman lines up a putt on the eighth hole during the first round of the Charles Schwab Challenge golf tournament at Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas, Thursday, May 28, 2026. (AP Photo/LM Otero)

Keegan Bradley watches his tee shot on the ninth hole during the first round of the Charles Schwab Challenge golf tournament at Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas, Thursday, May 28, 2026. (AP Photo/LM Otero)

Tom Kim, of South Korea, walks after a tee shot on the sixth hole during the first round of the Charles Schwab Challenge golf tournament at Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas, Thursday, May 28, 2026. (AP Photo/LM Otero)

Ryan Gerard watches his tee shot on the ninth hole during the first round of the Charles Schwab Challenge golf tournament at Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas, Thursday, May 28, 2026. (AP Photo/LM Otero)

Alex Smalley hits from the ninth fairway during the first round of the Charles Schwab Challenge golf tournament at Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas, Thursday, May 28, 2026. (AP Photo/LM Otero)

PARIS (AP) — Two days after Jannik Sinner’s shocking meltdown at the French Open, it’s still unclear what exactly the issue was that led to him wasting a seemingly insurmountable advantage in his second-round match.

What is clear, though, is that the top-ranked player has had a series of issues with heat and cramps in big matches throughout his career.

Sinner said after wasting a two-set and 5-1 advantage in his five-set loss to Juan Manuel Cerundolo that he didn’t feel well when he woke up the morning of Thursday’s match.

Amid a week-long Paris heat wave, the temperature on Court Philippe-Chatrier rose to 32 C (90 F) during the match, and Sinner was clearly having a tough time cooling himself down as he reached for multiple ice bags and used a hand-held fan.

Still, he said the heat wasn't the issue.

“I think many things together caused this problem,” he said. “I just need my time now to process what went wrong here.”

It was Sinner’s 12th loss in 18 career five-set matches.

Here’s a look at some other matches during which Sinner had physical issues:

Less than two weeks before his French Open defeat, Sinner leaned on his racket bent over in exhaustion during an Italian Open semifinal against Daniil Medvedev.

Sinner had his right thigh treated by a trainer midway through the second set and drank pickle juice to relieve cramps. He was seen vomiting or spitting something out in the corner of the court in the night match, which was held in humid conditions.

Still, he had regained control of the match before it was suspended overnight due to rain, and he came back the next day and finished it off in three sets and went on to win the title.

In the third round of this year’s Australian Open, Sinner was limping and desperately trying to stretch out cramps in his arms and legs amid severe heat against Eliot Spizzirri.

Sinner acknowledged he was lucky when the extreme heat rules saved him and the roof was closed just as he went down a break in the third set. He won it in four sets.

The Italian star, who was the two-time defending champion in Australia, was beaten by Novak Djokovic over five sets in the semifinals.

Amid extreme humidity in the third round of his title defense at the Shanghai Masters in October, Sinner retired midway through the third set against Tallon Griekspoor.

He limped between points and frequently massaged his right thigh in the deciding set. On a changeover, he didn’t sit and instead put his legs up on his bench to try and ward off a cramp.

Sinner retired 22 minutes into the Cincinnati Open final against Carlos Alcaraz last year because of illness, amid extreme heat.

He put an ice pack on his head during a changeover but was clearly having trouble from the start.

“Didn’t feel great from yesterday,” Sinner said. “Also during the night, I thought I would recover a bit better, but it was not the case. I just tried to go out for the fans, trying to give a match. But it was not meant to be for me today.”

It was the first time in his career that he retired during a final. After he stopped playing, Alcaraz went over and put his arm around his rival as Sinner sat in his chair.

In the fourth round of the 2025 Australian Open against Holger Rune, Sinner advanced in four sets as both players struggled with the heat.

In the third set, Sinner’s hand was trembling during a changeover. He asked for a trainer, and told a ball kid to bring him something to drink from his team. The player’s pulse was checked, and then he trudged off with a towel draped around his neck and a bottle in each hand.

Sinner went on to win the title.

During a five-set loss to Medvedev in the 2024 Wimbledon quarterfinals, Sinner felt ill and dizzy and said he hadn’t slept well the night before.

He was treated by a trainer and left the court during the third set, then briefly surged before faltering again.

(corrects from cucumber juice in Rome section of previous story to pickle juice)

AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis

Jannik Sinner of Italy reacts as he plays against Juan Manuel Cerundolo of Argentina during their second round men's singles tennis match at the French Open tennis tournament in Paris, Thursday, May 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

Jannik Sinner of Italy receives medical assistance during a break at the second round men's singles tennis match against Juan Manuel Cerundolo of Argentina at the French Open tennis tournament in Paris, Thursday, May 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard)

Jannik Sinner of Italy reacts as he cools himself with the water during a break at the second round men's singles tennis match against Juan Manuel Cerundolo of Argentina at the French Open tennis tournament in Paris, Thursday, May 28, 2026, as temperature rises up to 33 C (91 F). (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

Jannik Sinner of Italy reacts as he feels unwell because of the heat during the second round men's singles tennis match against Juan Manuel Cerundolo of Argentina at the French Open tennis tournament in Paris, Thursday, May 28, 2026, as temperature rises up to 33 C (91 F). (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)