The fan favorite Sunday at the PGA? It might not be Scottie Scheffler

Nearly everyone will be following Scottie Scheffler on Sunday at Quail Hollow, who has a 54-hole stranglehold on his third major title.

But the fan favorite? He might be playing in the group behind.

The penultimate pairing during the final round of the PGA Championship consists of Davis Riley and North Carolina’s own J.T. Poston, who tee off at 2:30 p.m. ET, 10 minutes before Scheffler and Alex Noren.

In many ways, Poston is this week’s local boy. He grew up 60 miles away from Charlotte (host of this year’s second major) in Hickory, N.C., where he won a pair of individual state championships and another team title in high school. He went to college three hours away from Charlotte, at Western Carolina University (located in Cullowhee, N.C.).

“I’m getting a lot of shouts,” said Poston, who added he has several family and friends watching on-site this week, including high school and college teammates. “Some Hickory shouts and some Red Tornados and 828, our area code where I’m from. And WCU, where I went to college.”

He’s put on a good show for them so far.

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Poston shot a three-under 68 on Saturday to get to seven under and in a tie for third. He’s four back of Scheffler, the 54-hole leader, but optimistic thinkers would argue that means there’s only two people ahead of him. On Sunday, he rises with a chance to win his first major title … in a home game.

“I hit a lot of really good shots, a lot of good iron shots, which I think you’ve got to do on a day like today when it’s breezy and obviously playing a hard golf course,” said Poston, who has lost strokes off the tee this week but ranks third in Strokes Gained: Approach and SG: Putting. “I was happy with that. Stayed real patient all day, which is kind of the theme for the week for me.”

The 31-year-old pro has three PGA Tour wins, most recently at the Shriners Children’s Open in October. He’s missed just one cut in 14 starts this season and although he has yet to record a top 10, he does have five top 25s. His past three years have been even better: 34 top 10s and never worse than 41st in the FedEx Cup.

The majors, however, are something he still has to figure out. He has yet to finish in the top 10 in 17 major starts, but he’s in good position to finally crack that come Sunday. He also might be in a better situation than it seems. Sportsbooks are giving Scheffler -450 odds to win. Poston’s +3000 odds are tied for the fourth-best.

Low on pressure; high on fan support. No sweat, right?

Plus, the home-game angle has worked before. His first Tour win came in 2019 at the Wyndham Championship, which is held in Greensboro, N.C. Could his first major come in the Carolinas too?

“I love playing in front of the home crowd,” Poston said. “I think I definitely can feed off some of that momentum and people pulling for me. I’m sure tomorrow will be no different than it has been every other day this week. Definitely looking forward to it.”