PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. -- After stumbling out of the blocks with a double bogey and a bogey in his second round at THE PLAYERS Championship Friday afternoon, Brad Faxon was pondering the advice of sports psychologist Dr. Bob Rotella -- and trying to forget it.

“I was out there thinking I’d like to throttle Bob Rotella, because he had been telling me to just go out there and be Brad Faxon. Well, I didn’t want to be Brad Faxon at that point,” the veteran player said, grinning. “I mean, I’m 3 over par after two holes. No-one would want to be me there.”

Then something strange happened: he found himself. He found the guy with the most envied putting touch in golf, the man who had won eight titles, the player who had made the last 13 cuts in THE PLAYERS Championship, a record. Bradford John Faxon Jr. became Brad Faxon (his stage name), rallying by hitting a series of fairways and greens and draining the greens of birdies for a 3-under-par 69 that places him among the contenders midway through the PGA TOUR’s biggest event.

Faxon, 44, birdied six of his last 12 holes on the Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass to complete 36 holes in 5-under-par 139, tied for seventh and just three behind leader Jim Furyk. His comeback, amid swirling breezes, started when he was shaken back to reality, quite unexpectedly, in the 12th fairway, his third hole of the day.

While ruing his sinking position and Rotella’s words, Faxon lined up a 90-yard wedge shot to the bowl-shaped 12th green. He already was in the process of taking his stance over the ball when he heard a familiar voice from behind him. “Dad, can I have some sunscreen?” He turned to find his 14-year-old daughter, Emily, who, obviously, was more desperate for SPF 30 on the opening nine than her father was desperate to shoot 30.

Of course, he gave it to her, via a handoff to a volunteer.

“Then I knocked it to two feet,” Faxon said with distinct satisfaction.

He got it back after the round; the sunscreen, that is. His game was back for the rest of the round as he converted eight birdies while only surrendering one more stroke. It’s a game that had been missing for the last three weeks as he fell short of the cutline at the first three stops on the TOUR’s Southern Swing.

“I can’t complain after having such a tough start and how I have played the last few weeks,” said Faxon, who still isn’t quite at full strength after off-season knee surgery. “I haven’t been doing a good job of hanging in there lately.”

The explanation for Faxon’s turnaround after scores ranging from 71 to 78 in his last seven rounds is dripping with irony. Best to let Faxon explain it.

“When I chase perfection I never get better,” he said, noting that he’d filled the past month with too many swings on the driving range. “I’m not saying that practice isn’t important, but I’ve been out here too long to think I can turn myself into Nick Faldo or someone else. I mean, my game is not suddenly going to change.”

In other words, Faxon just needed to … well, be himself.

“The last nine holes at Bay Hill (last week) I played in 3-under par. Something clicked,” Faxon admitted. “I tried to make swing thoughts less important than shots. I have been thinking about way too much stuff. Just try to play golf.”

Novel idea.

What Faxon has to show for that change in mindset is his best position after 36 holes this year -- plus some growing confidence. Oh, and a little bit of sunburn, too.