NEWTOWN SQUARE, Pa. — Bear with me because I’m about to say something that not everyone will understand… but do you remember that TikTok trend from 2021, with the booming voice, called Choose your character?
He became popular with the TikTok generation create videos for the characters of the society with which they identified, using the voice drawn from Character selection page of the video game “Super Smash Bros.” If this all sounds crazy, stay with us – we’re almost there.
The reason why this is related to the PGA Championship because the 54-hole leaderboard is so tangled with characters and has so many different stories — so many permutations, as Aaron Rai said Saturday — that it’s time for everyone at home to work through the options and (booming voice) CHOOSE YOUR … CHARACTER ….
We’ll lay out the options from least likely to raise Wanamaker to most likely.
CHOOSE YOUR PGA CHAMPIONSHIP WARRIOR
11. If you want chaos that nobody knows what to do with…
You are choosing Bud Cauley (-2), Brian Harman (-2), Ben Griffin (-2) or any of the other players who have somehow persisted in this evil organization and yet have been low on conscience all week. They have completed the same number of holes as everyone else and only made a few more strokes in the process. Maybe on Sunday they play the best golf of their lives? If so, we’ll try to catch up with where they’ve been all week.
10. If you look back at your new self fondly…
You are going all-in Joaquin Niemann (-2) or Cam Smith (-2). Both LIV players have shown great promise in years past, but have faded in ways that should leave them reflecting on everything that came with their decisions to commit to LIV Golf. Niemann played his best golf there, only before the league earned world ranking points; Smith played his best golf just before he left for LIV, period. We’ve been wanting them to blow up in the majors, but it just hasn’t happened, and somehow both have resurfaced this week.
(ranking continues below the chart)
9. If Statistics was your favorite class in high school…
You are prone to fall with Nick Taylor (-4), Aaron Rai (-4) or Christopher Reitan (-4). Why those guys? Because you believe in the predictive results of the bell curve. How the most expected results often, but not always, happen. How there have been many titles won by Tiger Woods and Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy, but also Jimmy Walker, Shaun Micheel, Ben Curtis, etc.
It might sound dismissive to pre-label those gentlemen as one-time big winners, but it also feels right. In the next 10 years, there will be a major winner who will steal one. Can it happen on Sunday?
8. If you think elder abuse is serious…
Then you are praying Justin Rose (-2) makes it happen. The 45-year-old has been so good in majors for most of the past two years, finishing in the top-six in half of them, that it feels wrong that he continues to fall short. Rose finished T6, likely, at the 2024 PGA, then T2 a few months later at the Open, lost in a playoff at the 2025 Masters and then held the Masters lead last month before losing his grip again in a green jacket. It feels like her THERE happen before it may never happen again.
7. What do you know about Leicester City?
The 2015 Premier League champions were brave. They didn’t have all the money to buy all the players with all the tools. But they fought hard and felt that the people did NO take them seriously … until they do HAD to take them seriously. Then Leicester won.
Alex Smalley (-6) has somewhat led this tournament after each round, and now holds a two-shot lead entering the final 18 holes. He’s not a fan favorite in any tenure, but his play is far more respectable than most fans would realize. He has been hanging around the tour leaderboards for the past two months. It’s time to take it seriously.
6. If you want a party to break out…
You need the closest thing to a local guy, and this is it Chris Gotterup (-2). Philadelphia golf fans haven’t really had a rooting interest in this championship, at least not a legitimate one they can win. But a group of Chris Gotterup’s family and friends are here in Aronimink after making the quick trip from New Jersey or New York.
When Gotterup got to five under and a share of the lead midway through Saturday, his supporters were getting worried. If he somehow gets into that position again on Sunday, expect the Philly locals to join in.
5. If you think experience should matter…
Xander Schauffele (-3) is sitting there, waiting, with two big wins under his belt. He’s been there all week. Two under after the first round, five back after 36 holes, now three under and waiting for everyone to crumble around him, just like at Royal Troon in 2024. Schauffele has a knack for just staying in the majors, finishing in the top 18 in 15 of the last 16 majors. So yes, he will be there, just waiting.
4. If The Talented Mr. Ripley is one of your favorite fairy tales…
Patrick Reed (-3) it’s your character. Reed is, like Tom Ripley, a shape-shifting chameleon. He is a former member of LIV, a current member of the DP World Tour and a past and present member of the PGA Tour. it is extremely talented and now that he’s doing well, he’s a threat to steal this tournament from whoever you might think is more deserving.
3. If you root for LeBron James…
then Scottie Scheffler (-1) it’s your man. Watching greatness in sports gets you going. A fan in Aronimink said “C’mon LeBron” at Scheffler as he walked the green Saturday. Maybe it’s because cheering for LeBron is believing in greatness. And so is the cheer for Scheffler. To root for a person to achieve what he or she wants SEEMS to be worthy of it.
2. If you believe in setting the powder…
You’re hoping Jon Rahm (-4) can do what it didn’t do last year and close the deal. Rahm is a generational golfer who willingly made controversial moves during his prime. Those decisions have created a murky narrative around some of the most important years of his career, a period in which he has neither added to his grand total nor contested outside the 2025 PGA, when he went toe-to-toe with Scheffler and faded late. This time Scheffler might not stand in Rahm’s way, but someone else might be…
1. If you want to see the story…
You should Rory McIlroy (-3) to appear. You may not like how much his thoughts lead to golf coverage, but you have to admit that once the Masters is over, only one person can win a calendar year Grand Slam, and that’s him. McIlroy condemned the organization of the course more than once this week, started his tournament with a 74 he called “st” and somehow has rallied to just three back. If he were to win, it would give the sport plenty of fun heading into next month’s US Open, and we haven’t had the chance to really talk about a calendar clash since Jordan Spieth 11 years ago.
;)
