Top 20 players to watch in 2012: No. 12 Sam Saunders

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It's not easy being a grandson of Arnold Palmer, but Sam Saunders hasn't shied away from who is.

Now that he'll have playing status this season on the Nationwide Tour he plans to stick to his plan and compete at a high level.

"I'm excited about being able to focus on one Tour and I know how competitive the Nationwide Tour is," said Saunders, 24, who has been a pro for nearly three years after leaving Clemson a year early.

Because he is Palmer's grandson he was given plenty of sponsor's exemptions into PGA TOUR tournaments but says he was pleased to earn his way on the Nationwide Tour. He was medalist in the first stage of q-school and made it through the second stage and then held his own at the final stage.

Saunders has played in 11 Nationwide Tour tournaments, making five cuts and finishing in the top 10 just once. He's also played in 16 PGA TOUR tournaments making just over $225,000.

Saunders says that 2012 will be a good year, mainly because he feels ready to play a full season.

"I think when I first got out there and was playing a lot on the exemptions there was a lot of pressure to perform," Saunders said about when he first turned pro. "I felt like I didn't want to let anybody down because I was taking a spot in tournaments."

Saunders lives in Orlando and practices and plays a lot at Bay Hill and says the mental aspect of golf is what he's working on the most.

"Physically, my golf game is fine and I played very well in first and second stage," Saunders said. "I have to realize when I get out there on a week-to-week basis I have to have patience and just play my game."

Palmer said in the fall that his grandson has been working hard on his game, but that he just needs to play better.

"(Palmer) understands how much I've been working on my game," Saunders said. "It's a process and that's what took me a little while to understand."

Palmer also said that the Nationwide Tour has been a very good avenue for players to get to the PGA TOUR.

"The Nationwide Tour is key to the PGA TOUR now," Palmer said. "The fact that the Nationwide Tour players are so good and that's how guys are getting onto the PGA TOUR means something. And once they get to the PGA TOUR they are staying there so that's great to see."

Take a closer look at Saunders' stats from the 2011 PGA TOUR season. He did not meet the minimum number of rounds required to be officially ranked, so the rank indicated is the position he would be ranked if the minimum had been met.