CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Chris Stroud would have played naked at the PGA Championship if he had to. And he nearly did have to.

Stroud had no intention of being at Quail Hollow this week for the 99th PGA Championship and who could blame him? In 289 career PGA starts, he had never won and long ago gave up on the notion that he might. Not long after conceding the obvious, he became a surprise last-minute addition to the field here after an upset victory at the Barracuda Championship last weekend in Reno, Nev., a tournament he was playing while holding only conditional status on tour.

After winning a three-man playoff against Springfield native Richy Werenski and Greg Owen, picking up his trophy and a check for $594,000, the scramble was on. Stroud had to cancel his planned return home to Houston for a week off after five straight tournament appearances, drove two hours to Sacramento, Calif., to board a flight to Atlanta and then a second flight to Charlotte, arriving around 2 a.m. Monday. Three days later he’s 1 shot off the lead at the year’s final major with an opening round of 3-under-par 68, a performance nearly as remarkable as his perseverance.

“All these years, I kept telling myself: ‘You’re going to win,’ ” the 13-year tour veteran recalled yesterday. “ ‘You’re great.’ Being super positive to myself. Not that that’s a bad thing, but it was putting a lot of pressure on myself I didn’t know.

“Then I gave up on it. About six months ago, I said I’ve had 10 years of good run out here. I’ve played well. I don’t care if I win anymore. I want to win, but I can’t let that be on my shoulders all the time. I’m not going to worry about it. I’m going to play the best I can and let’s just ride this out. I don’t know if I’m good enough to win or keep my card. Since I surrendered to that it’s like all of a sudden the weight was off my shoulders.

“All these people told me this for years, but I had to get to the bottom to figure it out. I literally said, ‘I’m done. I’m just going to do the best I can and have as much fun as I can.’ All of a sudden it falls in my lap.”

In 17 events this season before the Barracuda, he’d made just under a half million dollars and finished in the top three once and top five once before lightning finally struck in Reno. But winning when it’s so unexpected brings its own problems, and one of them was clothes. Or a lack of them.

“My wife had to bring me extra clothes but that’s a good problem to have,” he said. “I got 1,400 text messages, 55 voicemails and probably another 100 emails. I replied to every single one of them.

“I’m a big believer in that. I told a few guys after golf is gone and done for me, all you have left is people and the relationships you have. I care more about people than I do about my golf. I was raised that way. I’m grateful to have a chance to play on the tour and stay healthy.”

At a time when we hear so much of spoiled athletes seeming to take their good fortune for granted, Chris Stroud is a breath of fresh air. There was not a hint of whiny David Price in him. Not an ounce of diva or a whiff of self-absorption. Just a guy who uses the word “grateful” often and the words “I,” “me” and “disrespect” not once.

Stroud began playing golf at 5 with his father, Jimmy, guiding him. All his life he dreamed of being a PGA Tour player and that first happened in 2007. But no one dreams of being a scrambling tour player, someone always fighting for a position and too seldom cashing checks.

Stroud was an occasional PGA Tour player for a time, competing on satellite tours and going to Q-school to earn full-time status. He finally got it 11 years ago, but the best he could do was back-to-back seasons with four top-10 finishes. He made well over a million dollars both years, but with the cost of traveling to over 25 events a year and the other expenses that are part of the professional golfer’s life he wasn’t exactly living in high cotton. Nor was he living in the winner’s circle. Until last weekend.

Then yesterday there was his name, 1 shot behind tournament leader Thorbjorn Olesen and dead even with U.S. Open champion Brooks Koepka. Jordan Spieth? Rory McIlroy? Phil Mickelson? They’re all looking up at him today.

Whether he can maintain his position by telling himself it’s no longer important if he does, remains to be seen.

“When I was 9 years old I knew I wanted to be on the PGA Tour. It was a dream. When I got out here my dream was to win. It’s at least a 20-year dream come true.”

That dream may not hold up for three more days here at Quail Hollow, but Chris Stroud will take it as it comes. After all, he finally got a victory, a spot in the PGA Championship near the top of the leaderboard and a two-year tour exemption, which means everything to a 35-year-old scuffler hanging on to the thin edge of the PGA Tour.

“I’m in (next January’s Tournament of Champions) at Kapalua,” he said, a broad, unbelieving grin on his face. “Obviously I’m playing well. Today was one of the easiest rounds. It’s a deep confidence that I have now.

“Any time I start talking about golf my caddie says, ‘We’re not going to talk about golf. Stay distracted.’ We talk about anything but golf. We talk about science. We talk about spirituality, baseball, football, Texans, Astros. Anything to keep my mind off golf.

“As soon as I hit it I’m talking about something else. If I say something he goes, ‘We don’t care about golf.’ It’s an experiment we tried last week and it absolutely worked.”

Which is why Chris Stroud is working today, 1 shot off the lead at the PGA Championship and not thinking a thing about it.