PGA Championship 2012 Leaderboard: Most Surprising Golfers in Final Round

PGA Championship 2012 Leaderboard: Most Surprising Golfers in Final Round

The 2012 PGA Championship, as with every major golf tournament, accounts for countless stories of unexpected triumphs and curious cuts.

This weekend at The Ocean Course in Kiawah Island, S.C., has proven no different. Rory McIlroy is creating distance from the field at the top of the leaderboard and Tiger Woods has just about fallen out of contention, which has recently become commonality.

While these things should come as no surprise, Sunday’s leaderboard displays a number of head-scratching scores, from the unexpected excelling to the curious who were cut.

Jimmy Walker (World Ranking: 135; 2012 PGA Championship: 73, 75, 67)

Walker entered the final round in a tie for 11the place on the PGA Leaderboard after a 5-under 67 on Saturday. Walker? Really? For a guy who has played 21 tournaments this year, cracked the top 10 three times, missed five cuts and averaged a 36th-place finish in tournaments he completed, he’s having an uncharacteristically great weekend.

Lee Westwood (World Ranking: 4; 2012 PGA Championship: 75, 77 CUT)

Though it is surprising to see Westwood miss his first cut in over a year at the PGA Championship, it’s understandable, considering his caddie and putting advisor Billy Foster is recovering from knee surgery and is reportedly out for the remainder of the 2012 golf season. For this reason, it is no coincidence that he expressed frustration with his putting game via Twitter on Friday, saying:

"

First missed cut in over a year. Shame it was at the PGA . Played well enough to be in contention. Putting is frustrating me at the moment.

— Lee Westwood (@WestwoodLee) August 11, 2012

"

Ian Poulter (World Ranking: 30; 2012 PGA Championship: 70, 71, 74)

Poulter is the currently the only buffer between McIlroy and the field and his play has not faltered on Sunday. With top-10 finishes at The Masters on April 5 (seventh place) and the Open Championship on July 9 (tied for ninth place), Poulter is playing up to his competition when it matters most in 2012. Still, in nine other tournaments this season, he finished third once and did not crack the top 25 again.

David Lynn (World Ranking: 98; 2012 PGA Championship: 73,74, 68)

The 38-year old Lynn has one career win on the Eurpoean Tour and hasn’t played a tournament since finishing in 36th at the Scottish Open a month ago. Lynn’s 68 in the third round left him 1-under, entering Sunday’s round tied for 11th, five shots back from the leader. Another round like Saturday’s puts him in contention for ultimate prize and a PGA Champion that would make you say, “huh?”