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: Troy Matteson found a good time to get hot last year -- posting all three of his top-10s in a five-tournament span heading into the FedExCup Playoffs on the way to a career-best finish of 45th. Finding consistency throughout the year will be the key in 2013.

2012 DEFINING MOMENT: Matteson started his surge into the FedExCup Playoffs with a playoff loss to Zach Johnson at the John Deere Classic. After opening with a 61, Matteson drained a 52-foot eagle putt on the 71st hole of regulation to force sudden death, eventually losing on the second extra hole. –- Helen Ross, PGATOUR.COM

ALBERS’ QUICK TAKE: I walked with Mattesson the final round at John Deere where he lost a playoff to Zach Johnson. It took one of the great shots of the year out of Zach -- out of a fairway bunker for tap in birdie during the playoff -- in order for Johnson to win. I wondered at the time if the defeat would encourage Troy or leave a scar. Troy went on to miss just one more cut during the regular season. Troy Mattesson is a mentally disciplined player. -- Fred Albers, SiriusXM PGA TOUR Radio

BOLTON’S FANTASY OUTLOOK: Not sure there's another guy on TOUR that requires as much patience. Since his rookie year of 2006, he's averaged 12.71 missed cuts per season, but he's also averaged 29.43 starts. Notoriously streaky. Conservative gamers might have a spot for him, but they might not mind taking a pass on the absence of production for the majority of the year. Meanwhile, like most things counterintuitive in fantasy golf, his unpredictability week-to-week translates into known value since he's repeatedly proven that he'll solve his problems before painting himself into a corner. -- Rob Bolton, PGATOUR.COM Fantasy expert

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2012 QUICK REVIEW

Regular Season ranking 60th

Final Playoffs ranking 45th

Best finishes

2nd

John Deere Classic

By the Numbers Starts: 32 Cuts made: 17 Rounds played: 98 Top-10 finishes: 3 Money List rank: 77th

TOUR ranking Driving distance: 26th Driving accuracy: 182nd Greens in regulation: 124th Strokes gained-putting: 66th Scoring average: 134th

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Five players -- Troy Matteson, Bo Van Pelt, Jhonattan Vegas, Stuart Appleby and Charl Schwartzel -- currently share the clubhouse lead at 5-under 65 in the opening round of the RBC Canadian Open, where they’re playing lift, clean and place after an overnight storm swept through the area and soaked the golf course.

Here’s what some of the leaders had to say about the opening round:

Vegas on the course conditions: “It is really soft. You can really throw anything at the pins and it's going to stop there.”

Vegas on how much of a difference there is between playing lift, clean and place and playing the ball down: “You take the doubt out of your mind. When you have your eye on the ball, you don't know which way the ball is going to go. So cleaning it takes it completely out of your mind. You can put a good spin on it, and usually you can get a result. It's huge.”

Appleby, who shot a 59 in the final round to win at The Greenbrier two years ago, on the similarities between that course and this one: “The greens, probably similar speed. The topography of this course is a lot hillier, a lot more demanding I think on the tee shots. The golf course now at Greenbrier is a lot more demanding than it was when I shot it.”

Schwartzel on being healthy again after missing a month between the U.S. and British Open due to a rib injury: “Before I had the injury, that second Masters before the British Open I thought that was the best I've hit the ball in my career. I hit it so good. Then the injury came and I was pretty upset about it because I thought I was really close to breaking through and winning again. I had to sit around for three weeks, three-and-a-half weeks without being able to hit a ball. I had sort of a rushed recuperation for the British Open, wasn't quite 100 percent. But at the British Open I didn't hit it as good as I did when I took off, but I kept practicing, and on Monday when I came here, things started falling into place.”

By John Schwarb, PGATOUR.COM

At an average of 305.1 yards per drive for the week, runner-up Troy Matteson had the highest driving distance among the top 15 finishers at the John Deere Classic.

It took a little work to get there from an equipment standpoint.

Matteson, a two-time winner on the PGA TOUR, came to TPC Deere Run telling TaylorMade reps he was ‘killing’ his RBZ fairway wood but was not able to hit a power draw on command with his driver. Instead, he was hitting pulls.

Follow along.

Matteson’s original driver, an 8-degree TaylorMade R11S, had been tuned to a lower position while the ASP sole plate was in the closed setting – in short, a low-lofted driver with a open face, setting up closed. To help fix, TaylorMade reps gave him a higher-lofted driver with a closed clubface that appeared square, shortened by an inch to get the club more vertical and promote the draw.

In the end, going from a 7.5-degree/2-degree open face to an 8.5 degree/1-degree closed/1-inch shorter club immediately promoted more ball speed, higher launch and a higher spin rate, allowing the ball to stay in the air and turn right-to-left.

How much the switch pay off? In the first round at the John Deere, Matteson made 10 birdies in a round of 61 and ultimately lost in a playoff to Zach Johnson.

ANSER MEN: At the other end of driver spectrum was Ping, a holdout in the adjustable driver craze – until earlier this month. Ping’s new Anser driver is its first entry into the adjustable market, with lofts able to be tuned a half-degree up or down.

Louis Oosthuizen (pictured at right) put a Anser driver in the bag at last week’s Scottish Open and brought it to the British Open, where he’s the defending champion. Former Masters champion Angel Cabrera has been working with an Anser 3-wood.

SPECIAL DELIVERY: Callaway’s X Utility Prototype irons have been hot on TOUR and will continue to be this week at the British Open, where accuracy is far more important than distance. The company has been frantically shipping clubheads from its PGA TOUR trailer overseas; clubmaker Roger Cleveland even traveled to England with five 18-degree X Utility Prototype heads in his baggage.

BAG BITS: K.J. Choi won the 2011 PLAYERS with Miura irons; last week he finished T13 at John Deere with Callaway RAZR Musclebacks. … Blake Adams switched from steel shafts in his TaylorMade Tour Preferred MC irons to Aldila-prototype graphites at the John Deere. Most PGA TOUR pros prefer steel in irons. … Chez Reavie first began working with a TaylorMade Ghost Spider belly putter at the AT&T National, finally putting it into play at TPC Deere Run and finishing T68.

SCRIPT: You know you’re important when your apparel supplier dresses you. Check out how Sergio Garcia, Dustin Johnson and Justin Rose are scripted by TaylorMade-adidas.

WINNER’S BAG: Johnson at the John Deere Classic:
Driver: Titleist 910D2 (Mitsubishi Diamana Blue Board, 9.5 degrees)
Fairway woods: Titleist 910F (15.0 degrees) and 909 F2 (18.5 degrees)
Hybrid: Titleist 909H (21 degrees)
Irons: Titleist AP1 (4) and AP2 (5-9) 
Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design (48, 54, 60 degrees) 
Putter: SeeMore FGP
Ball: Titleist Pro V1x

By Chris Dunham, PGATOUR.COM Troy Matteson is in position to become just the third wire-to-wire winner in the history of the John Deere Classic and the first on TOUR since Rory McIlroy at the 2011 U.S. Open yet he’s still flying under the radar. The 32-year-old two-time PGA TOUR winner shot a 5-under 66 Saturday to push his lead to three with just 18 holes to play. Among those in close pursuit, however, are three-time defending champion Steve Stricker and local favorite Zach Johnson, who have combined for 20 TOUR victories. “Nobody's really paying any attention to what I do,” Matteson said. “I'll just go about my business. When Steve plays good or Zach plays really good, just does so much for the tournament. Those are the main guys people remember.” Matteson is putting together his own week to remember at TPC Deere Run. He’s posted a field-leading 21 birdies against just three bogeys through 36 holes and leads the field in strokes gained - putting. He’s doing all of this while hitting a field-worst 54 percent of fairways. “I really didn't hit too many bad shots today, Matteson said. “I only hit a couple and I got away with 'em. Only made a couple bogeys. One was a smart bogey. One on 18 I just misjudged the putt going down the hill.  It's got a little baked out and it's easy to knock it by.” He could forgive himself for the late three-putt on a day in which he rolled in three putts of more than 10 feet including a 35-footer from the fringe on No. 13. Matteson knows he may need more of those long putts to protect and improve upon his 18-under tally on a course that has already yielded 1,580 birdies this week. “I think you still need to be aggressive,” he said. “It's anybody's tournament. I mean, a guy at 12 under could shoot 60, you know. You have to come up with a lot of under‑par shots, so I think that you have to play aggressive. … And that's what the John Deere does. That's what you need to do here.” After defeating Rickie Fowler and Jamie Lovemark in a playoff at the 2009 Frys.com Open (his last TOUR victory), Matteson knows what to expect from crowds that will likely be pulling for Stricker and Johnson on Sunday. He says he’s comfortable not being the guy the majority of the crowd is rooting for down the stretch on Sunday. And he’s comfortable with the two players who are expected to be receiving most of the cheers. “(Stricker’s) a great guy to play golf with,” Matteson said. “I would rather be paired with him than not. If I had to pick two or three guys to get paired with, couldn't go wrong with Zach or Steve, even if you're just playing golf on a Saturday somewhere. They're the kind of guys you want to hang around with.” Matteson hopes to be hanging with them after the round with the champions’ trophy in hand.

The final round of the John Deere Classic will begin Sunday much like Saturday’s third round. Troy Matteson’s name is atop the leaderboard and Steve Stricker, in pursuit of a four-peat, is three shots back. There are two key differences, however. One, the pressure is greater on a PGA TOUR Sunday. And two, Matteson will be paired with the three-time champion on Sunday. Six players were between Matteson and Stricker on the leaderboard after 36 holes but the congestion cleared up on Saturday as the aforementioned two were the only players in the final four pairings to shoot better than 2 under. Matteson started quickly, with two birdies in his first three holes, and added five more before the end of his round that resulted in a 5-under 66. Stricker birdied the first hole but couldn’t get much else going before making four consecutive birdies late in his round of 66. Both players bogeyed the 18th. Entering Sunday four shots back and playing in the penultimate grouping will be Zach Johnson and Brian Harman. Johnson, an eight-time PGA TOUR winner grew up in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, less than 100 miles from the course. Harman, a rookie ranked No. 97 in the FedExCup standings, is in search of his first victory -- and first top-10 finish -- on TOUR. In what promises to be an interesting Sunday at TPC Deere Run, 22 other golfers will enter Sunday’s final round at 10 under or better.

Troy Matteson is showing no signs of feeling pressure early in Round 3. The 36-hole leader two-putted from inside 10 feet for birdie on the par-5 second, then made a 9-foot birdie putt on No. 3 to reach 15 under and increase his lead to two at TPC Deere Run. Matteson's best finish thus far in 2012 is a tie for 26th at The Honda Classic. He projects to move to 41st in the FedExCup standings with a victory. Giving chase is Brian Harman, who is 1 under through four holes today and 13 under for the week. Another shot back are Jamie Lovemark, who posted an early 64 today, Billy Hurley III, John Senden, Robert Garrigus, Ricky Barnes and J.J. Henry. Steve Stricker, who is looking for a fourth consecutive victory at the John Deere Classic, is another shot back at 11 under.

The leaders are about to start their third rounds at the John Deere Classic and fittingly, they’re all seeing green lights. The average winning score in the last 10 years at TPC Deere Run has been 19 under, so 36-hole leader Troy Matteson knows he can’t rest on his laurels after posting a 13-under mark to this point. “On a course like this you just got to try to keep shooting 5 , 6 , 7 under a day as best you can,” he said. “You really don't know what's going to happen. A guy could shoot 59 the last day and you shoot 6 under and you get lapped. You can't really plan for that.” Joining Matteson in this afternoon’s 1:42 p.m. ET final pairing is 48-year-old three-time TOUR winner Jeff Maggert, whose 9-under 62 was Friday’s best score. “I feel like I need another really good score, too,” Maggert said. “Feel like I need a 7 or 8 under the next Saturday or Sunday to keep myself in position. You don't expect to come out and shoot 9 under par every day, but I feel like I'm going to need one more really good round and then another round that's solid.” Maggert’s last TOUR victory came in 2006 at the FedEx St. Jude Classic. Matteson’s two TOUR victories came at two different tournaments called the Frys.com Open -- the first at TPC Summerlin in what is now the Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open. Playing ahead of the final pairing are Brian Harman (-12) and J.J. Henry (-11). Gary Christian (-11) and Ricky Barnes (-11) are another group ahead while Robert Garrigus (-11) is joined by a three-time champion here who has more TOUR wins than the other seven players mentioned combined. Steve Stricker, a 12-time TOUR winner seeking the “Stricker Slam” this week at TPC Deere Run enters today’s action just three back of the lead. Stricker’s last two third rounds at the John Deere Classic have been a 62 and a 63, both leaving him with the 54-hole lead. “There is a lot of good players and a long ways to go, so I just have to keep doing my thing,” Stricker said. “I need a low round. That's what it's going to take. One of these two rounds on Saturday or Sunday I'm going to have to put up a real low one and get right in there.” Long story short, don’t expect anyone to slow the torrid scoring pace they’ve been on in the early going. “It's a shootout,” Matteson said. “These tournaments where you got to shoot 20 plus under to win are really fun because we get to make a lot birdies and see how the chips fall at the end of the day. It will be a very interesting finish.”

Hopefully, Troy Matteson isn't triskaidekaphobic. This is, after all, a man who finished 36 holes at the John Deere Classic in 13 under -- on Friday the 13th, no less.

The 68 Matteson shot in the second round of the John Deere Classic allowed him to remain on top of the leaderboard when he finished although his three-shot lead had dwindled to one. The veteran was pleased to have made another positive move after opening with a sterling 61.

"It's just always tough when you shoot a low one to come to the golf course the next day," Matteson said. "I got here early. You get a little out of sync because you're anxious to get out there and play and see what you do. But, you know, all in all I felt pretty good with what we did today. Because we did hit the loose shots that we hit, we got away with most of 'em."

Matteson isn't sure that he'll be leading at the end of the day, though. TPC Deere Run is being extremely generous and he wouldn't be surprised to see someone post a number like he did on Thursday.

"I'll be shocked if it's still in the lead by the end of the day," Matteson said. "I think a guy at 7 could easily shoot 8 or 9.  Easily. Or at 6.  I know there are some guys going pretty low out there right now.
   
"It's out there every day. I mean, somebody could shoot a 59 today if they get it going. ... There are opportunities out there today.  I wouldn't be surprised if somebody got to 15."