PGA Championship 2012 Leaderboard: American Golfers Who Fell Flat at Final Major

The PGA Championship always brings an extra sense of urgency. It's the last major of the season, making it the final chance for golfers from around the globe to make a huge impact on one of the sport's biggest stages.

While there are some surprising names near the top of the leaderboard, some Americans who were hoping to contend weren't able to leave their mark. Let's take a look at three of the most disappointing results from the first two days of action.

Kyle Stanley (+14)

The Kiawah Island Ocean Course should have played right to Stanley's strengths. He ranks eighth on the PGA Tour in driving, which is a major advantage on the nearly 7,700-yard course. But he wasn't able to parlay it into low scores.

Stanley shot eight-over par on the first day and was only two shots better on Friday. It's a frustrating turn of events for the American, who had shown signs of breaking out of his mid-year slump in recent weeks, only to suffer a setback in a key event.

Any time a golfer finishes a tournament with just as many double bogeys as birdies it's safe to say they simply didn't have it. That was the case for Stanley, who now returns to the drawing board in an attempt to get back on track.

Rickie Fowler (+10)

Fowler has shown flashes of brilliance during his young career, including a stretch of three consecutive top-five finishes earlier in the season. But inconsistency continues to plague him. It was again an issue in the second round.

The California native was only two-over par after the first day, but a three-hole stretch on Friday did him in. From the fifth through seventh holes, Fowler shot a combined six-over par, including a triple bogey on No. 7.

At just 23, Fowler will have several more opportunities to win a major, but he has to figure out how to avoid the dips in his form. Until that happens, it will remain impossible to predict how he'll play during any given tournament.

Hunter Mahan (+8)

After being one of the best golfers on tour through the first three months, Mahan has leveled out recently. His performance at the PGA Championship was probably the worst of his season in a tournament in which he's never finished better than 16th.

His opening round was actually fine with five birdies and an ever-par total. Everything fell apart on Friday, however, as he shot an 80 with 10 bogeys. He wasn't able to develop a rhythm due to the relentless wind.

Overall, it's still been a successful season for Mahan, but he would have really liked to have a better showing at the final major. Instead, he'll finish the year without a top-10 finish in a major.