Tour Report: No. 76: Kevin Stadler

To preview the 2013 PGA TOUR season, PGATOUR.COM is counting down the Top 100 Players to Watch in 2013. For an archive page with the top 100 players and for an explanation on how the list was compiled, click here.

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2013 PREVIEW: Kevin Stadler shaved nearly a full stroke off his scoring average in 2012 — moving from No. 139 to 54th in that category at 70.194. If he continues to move in that direction next year, can it be long before he joins his father as a PGA TOUR winner?

2012 DEFINING MOMENT: Career highs in top-10 finishes — two of which came in the first two FedExCup Playoffs events — gave Stadler his first berth in the BMW Championship. He also earned more than $1.5 million, hitting seven figures for the first time in his career. –- Helen Ross, PGATOUR.COM

ALBERS’ QUICK TAKE: It was a solid year for Kevin, making 18 of 25 cuts and winning $1.5 million. I’m always impressed with his driving. Stadler averaged more than 290 yards per drive and hits 65 percent of his fairways. He made a great run in the FedEx Cup Playoffs, finishing 10th at both The Barclays and the Deutsche Bank Championship. — Fred Albers, SiriusXM PGA TOUR Radio

BOLTON’S FANTASY OUTLOOK: My enthusiasm is tempered in the sense that he seemed to be in the thick of it all season with five top 10s and another seven top 25s. And despite an 0-for-4 skid in early summer, he totaled a career-high 18 cuts made. However, he hit just $1.546 million, easily a career-best and double his haul in 2011, but it took seven years to break into seven figures. He’ll turn 33 early in the year, so it’s reasonable to expect him to continue as he enters his prime, but angle at a push, not a salary-plus experience. — Rob Bolton, PGATOUR.COM Fantasy expert

2012 QUICK REVIEW

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