Rickie Fowler: Players Championship 2012 Win Will Place Him Among Golf's Elite

Rickie Fowler's star power has outweighed his resume. He had gained his fame with serious flashes of potential and eye-catching outfits. 

However, until a week ago, he didn't have any PGA wins on his resume to match his name recognition. That all changed when he took last week's Wells Fargo Championship in a playoff. 

The 23-year-old became a PGA winner, and he showed he had the moxie to be a big-time player on the tour. 

And what he showed last week, he is proving this week. Fowler stormed to the top of the leaderboard at the Players Championship, before dropping a late stroke.

He finished the third round at nine-under, which left him one-shot behind Matt Kuchar (at the time of writing, there are still players on the course).

The Players Championship is one of the most coveted titles on the Tour. It is often regarded as the "fifth major." 

It consistently draws one of the top fields of any tournament, and Fowler is stealing the show. 

He started off with an even-round 72 in the opening round. He followed that up with a three-under second round that was marred by inconsistency.

He had five bogeys and eight birdies. This left him five shots behind the lead entering the third round, but he quickly erased that deficit. He birdied three of his first five holes to put the pressure on the leaders before they even teed off.

He kept the pedal to the metal from there. 

This leaves him in excellent position to claim his second PGA victory in as many weeks. And make no mistake about it, that will leave him as one of the game's elite players.

It is tough enough to win two consecutive tournaments during any stretch of the calendar year, let alone when one of them is an elite tournament like this one.

Fowler is crushing the ball off the tee. He is averaging almost 300 yards a drive this season, and he is putting it in the fairway. He is 38th in driving accuracy on the year, and that has been even better during his recent run. 

His blend of power and accuracy is currently unmatched. 

Fowler entered this tournament as the world's 24th ranked player, but the reality is, he is playing better golf than anyone on the planet.

Fowler is now on the small list of players that should be considered a favorite to win any tournament he enters.  

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