TPC 2012: Players Who Will Pass Matt Kuchar on Leaderboard

Matt Kuchar is not going to win the 2012 Players Championship. He ended second round play in a three-way tie for first, and he looked strong doing so. But this is what he does. 

He finds his way to the top of leaderboards and quietly fades back before the end. He doesn't collapse; he just doesn't do enough to win. 

The guy has won over $18 million in his playing career, but he has just three wins to show for it. 

Here are three guys who will pass him and be in the mix for the win. 

Rickie Fowler

Fowler's season got off to a slow start. That rough beginning culminated with him missing the cut at the RBC Heritage. He has since found his game. 

In his tournament following the Heritage, he finished 10th. He followed that up with his first win on the PGA Tour, which was his last event leading up to this one. 

He is riding that momentum and good play in this tournament. Fowler was hanging back in the pack for his first two rounds. He was just three under. 

However, he was apparently just getting a feel for the course, and he came out firing in the third round. As I write, Fowler is three-under through five holes in third round play. This has him at six-under for the tournament, and just two strokes behind the leaders. 

The biggest key to Fowler's turnaround has been his putter, and he has his stroke going at the TPC. He will continue to make up strokes and work his way to the top of the leaderboard. 

Charlie Wi

Wi has turned in an amazingly inconsistent season. This streaky golfer has a second and fourth place finish on the PGA season, along with three missed cuts. 

He started off this tournament looking a bit shaky with an opening round 71, but he began to hit his groove as he fired a 67 in the second round. That left him just two shots off the lead and with a tremendous amount of confidence. 

Wi has not played his best golf in this tournament, but he is within striking distance. 

When Wi is going good, he has decent distance, great accuracy and a solid putting stroke. This will help him avoid danger at the tricky Sawgrass course, and will allow him to gain strokes in the final two rounds. 

He will be in a great position to pick up his first PGA victory. 

Martin Kaymer

Kaymer is another streaky golfer. When he is on, he is among the true elite talents on the Tour. 

He has yet to find his groove this year. He has not finished higher than seventh in the European or PGA Tour this year. 

However, that seventh place finish was his last time on the course, and he is putting himself in a position to beat that at the TPC. 

In the third round, Kaymer is currently two-under through eight holes. This has dropped him to four-under for the tournament and leaves him just four strokes off the lead. 

Kaymer is amazingly accurate off the tee, and he is a wonderful putter. This will serve him well in this tournament, and leave him battling for the victory.