By Sean Martin, PGATOUR.COM

Marc Leishman finished in the top 10 at this year’s Masters and PLAYERS Championship. Now he’s on the verge of earning entry into another big event. Leishman enters this week’s Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial at No. 58 in the Official World Golf Ranking; the top 60 at week’s end earn exemptions into the U.S. Open, which will be held June 13-16 at Merion Golf Club in Ardmore, Pa.

Leishman is one of several players trying this week to secure their spot in the year’s second major. Sang-Moon Bae, winner of last week’s HP Byron Nelson Championship, starts the week at 64th in the world ranking, while PGA TOUR rookie Luke Guthrie is ranked 68th. All three are in the field for this week’s Crowne Plaza Invitational. The European Tour's flagship event, the BMW PGA Championship, also is being held this week at Wentworth Club in England.

Below is a list of players ranked between Nos. 55-70 who are not yet exempt for the U.S. Open (*- in Crowne Plaza Invitational field; #- in BMW Championship field):

55. Russell Henley
56. Marcel Siem#
57. Matteo Manassero#
58. Marc Leishman*
60. Chris Wood#
62. Hiroyuki Fujita
63. Jimmy Walker 
64. Sang-Moon Bae*
65. Marcus Fraser#
67. Charles Howell III
68. Luke Guthrie*
69. Alexander Noren#

This is not the last opportunity for players to earn their way into the U.S. Open via the Official World Golf Ranking. The top 60 immediately following the FedEx St. Jude Classic, which ends June 9, also earn their way to Merion. Sectional qualifying will be held May 27 in Japan and England and at 11 sites in the United States on June 3.

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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MORE TOP 100: Back to No. 48 | Forward to No. 46 | Top 100 archive

2013 PREVIEW: This year will be Davis Toms' 24th on the PGA TOUR, and the soon-to-be 46-year-old has shown no signs of slowing down -- other than each fall to watch his beloved LSU Tigers play football. He managed five top 10s last year, including the 15th runner-up finish of his career, despite his scoring average falling just over a stroke and his GIR dropping four percentage points. Shore that up in 2013 and Toms knows how to win.

2012 DEFINING MOMENT: Toms came close to his 14th PGA TOUR victory when he closed with a 63 at Sea Island as he chased Tommy Gainey at The McGladrey Classic. Interestingly, Toms' final round scoring average ranked third on TOUR while his overall mark was 77th. –- Helen Ross, PGATOUR.COM

ALBERS’ QUICK TAKE: David turns 46 in January and shows few signs of an eroding golf game. He won $1.6 million last year. David has never been a big hitter and I think that is actually a benefit as he ages. Other players have a hard time adjusting to a lack of length but Toms has never been long and has always found a way to score. Toms is a future Ryder Cup Captain. -- Fred Albers, SiriusXM PGA TOUR Radio

BOLTON’S FANTASY OUTLOOK: Will turn 46 before his first tee ball is aloft in 2013. Dipped below 20 starts for the first time in 2012, so we must adjust immediately. Interestingly, made only five starts after the U.S. Open but didn't cite injury as cause for a pair of mini-sabbaticals. Still nabbed five top 10s, however, proving that he can still pick his spots. Returned from his second break to finish second at The McGladrey Classic. Might be evolving into the Bruce Lietzke of his generation. Coincidentally, both have 13 career victories. -- Rob Bolton, PGATOUR.COM Fantasy expert

SOCIAL MEDIA: Find him on Twitter | Facebook

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2012 QUICK REVIEW

Regular Season ranking 69th

Final Playoffs ranking 95th

Best finish

2nd

The McGladrey Classic

By the Numbers Starts: 19 Cuts made: 13 Rounds played: 58 Top-10 finishes: 5 Money List rank: 47th

TOUR ranking Driving distance: 184th Driving accuracy: 6th Greens in regulation: 74th Strokes gained-putting: 118th Scoring average: 77th

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NOW IT’S YOUR TURN What is your prediction for David Toms in 2013? Fill out the form below and let us know

Fans will have a chance to join John Huh, the 2012 PGA TOUR Rookie of the Year, in a Facebook Chat tomorrow at 3 p.m. ET, giving them a chance to interact and ask questions about the 2012 season in a live chat on the PGA TOUR's own Facebook page ( www.facebook.com/pgatour). Fans can join the chat by visiting that page and posting their questions on the Wall. Huh was chosen as the PGA TOUR Rookie of the Year over Jonas Blixt, Ted Potter Jr. and Charlie Beljan. All won events the year, but Huh was the only one to make it to the TOUR Championship by Coca-Cola. You can leave a question for our Rookie of the Year by clicking HERE.

John Huh was voted 2012 PGA TOUR Rookie of the Year. Huh, 22, earned his first career victory at the Mayakoba Golf Classic in February and was the only rookie to qualify for the TOUR Championship by Coca-Cola. Huh finished 29th in the FedExCup, totaling four top-10 finishes in 28 starts, including a tie for second at the Valero Texas Open. Huh became the first player of Korean descent to be voted PGA TOUR Rookie of the Year. Want to congratulate Huh? Leave him a note in the comments section below and we'll deliver it to him.

Rory McIlroy was voted PGA TOUR Player of the Year for 2012. McIlroy won four times -- including the PGA Championship in record fashion and a pair of FedExCup Playoffs events -- and also finished in the top 10 a season-high tying 10 times. McIlroy, 23, is the youngest player to earn Player of the Year honors since Tiger Woods in 1998. He receives the Jack Nicklaus Award in recognition of being voted Player of the Year. Want to congratulate McIlroy? Leave a note in the comments section below and we'll deliver it to him.

Rory McIlroy is in line to pick up some more honors in 2012. The United States Sports Academy has nominated McIlroy for its Male Athlete of the Year award. He's one of a dozen athletes -- including NBA star LeBron James, top-ranked tennis player Novak Djokovic and record-breaking footballer Lionel Messi -- to be in the running for this annual award. The USSA, in conjunction with NBC Sports, will reveal the award winner on Christmas Day, Dec. 25. Click here for more information, or to vote on the award. McIlroy also made the shortlist for the 2012 BBC Sports Personality of the Year award, joining 11 Olympic or Paralympic athletes. Cyclists Bradley Wiggins and Sir Chris Hoy, tennis star Andy Murray, athletes Jessica Ennis and Mo Farah, rower Katherine Grainger, boxer Nicola Adams and sailor Ben Ainslie are other hopefuls. Paralympians Sarah Storey, Ellie Simmonds and David Weir also make the list for the award, which will be announced on Dec. 16. While the shortlist was selected by a panel of experts, the winner will be decided by a public vote. For more information, click here McIlroy had four victories in 2012, including the PGA Championship in record fashion and a pair of FedExCup Playoffs events. He had 10 top-10 finishes in all and is one of the nominees to win PGA TOUR player of the year.

Rory McIlroy provided some clues as to what his 2013 schedule will look like recently. For one, he's looking forward to finally taming THE PLAYERS Championship at TPC Sawgrass -- an event where he's missed the cut in each of his three attempts. His post-Masters schedule at least will include THE PLAYERS Championship, which began his streak of missed cuts in 2012. He said this year the TPC Sawgrass was a course that he would have to figure out how to play, even if it took him 20 years. "I'm determined," McIlroy said. "I feel like I'm a good enough player to get around that course. But yeah, I at least want to see what the weekend is like there." McIlroy will cut back on the number of tournaments he plays, and while he didn't want to say which ones he will skip, he offered a few clues. Singapore and Hong Kong are not on the 2013 schedule, and he played both this year. McIlroy also said he likely would not play the FedEx St. Jude Classic in Memphis, Tenn., the week before the U.S. Open. He added it this year because he had missed three straight cuts. "I added that this year just to try to get a little bit more golf because I was only playing two-round tournaments," McIlroy said. He said his schedule leading up to the Masters would at least include Abu Dhabi, the World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship, The Honda Classic, the WGC-Cadillac Championship and the Shell Houston Open. That would mean McIlroy does not play the Dubai Desert Classic next year. -- The Associated Press contributed to this report

Which players improved the most in scoring average in 2012? And which players took the biggest fall in that category? The PGA TOUR’s Alex Turnbull compared adjusted scoring averages with the TOUR ranking of 136 players who played the minimum number of rounds in both 2011 and 2012 (thus, qualifying statistically in the category). Here are the five players at the top of the list and the five at the bottom, based on their change in ranking from one season to the next. BIGGEST IMPROVEMENTS

Player	2011 rank (Adj. scoring average)	2012 rank (Adj. scoring average)	Increase in rank
Daniel Summerhays	182nd (72.487)	75th (70.722)	+107
Billy Horschel	152nd (71.512)	53rd (70.494)	+99
Ernie Els	121st (71.062)	25th (70.131)	+96
Kevin Stadler	139th (71.295)	54th (70.525)	+85
Robert Garrigus	105th (70.931)	23rd (70.066)	+82

BIGGEST DROPS

Player	2011 rank (Adj. scoring average)	2012 rank (Adj. scoring average)	Decrease in rank
Gary Woodland	15th (69.875)	158th (71.552)	-143
Robert Karlsson	26th (70.211)	148th (71.453)	-122
Robert Allenby	33rd (70.284)	139th (71.355)	-106
Andres Romero	54th (70.495)	157th (71.543)	-103
Aaron Baddeley	28th (70.230)	123rd (71.113)	-95

RORY AND TIGER Neither Rory McIlroy nor Tiger Woods played enough rounds on the PGA TOUR in 2011 to qualify for the comparison list. But here are their numbers had each player met the minimum number of rounds last year.

Player	2011 rank (Adj. scoring average)	2012 rank (Adj. scoring average)	Difference in rank
Rory McIlroy	3rd (69.48)	1st (68.873)	+2
Tiger Woods	51st (70.46)	2nd (68.904)	+49