Players on the cusp at the Northern Trust

69. Troy Merritt

Merritt has made a dozen starts just since May 1, which qualifies him among the game’s hardest workers. His record is spotty, but good enough to keep him just inside the potential BMW cusp.

Those dozen starts have included some gems: a tie for eighth at the Valspar, a solo seventh at the Schwab and a tie for second at July’s Rocket Mortgage in Detroit.

If Merritt gets in trouble in Boston, it’s likely to be off the tee. He ranks only 169th on Tour in Strokes Gained Off The tee, and – largely as an offshoot – 129th in Strokes Gained Tee To Green. At a fraction under 290 yards, he’s one of the Tour’s shorter drivers, a liability his 61 percent fairway accuracy rate does not offset.

Like a lot of Tour pros, Merritt’s pivotal putting game can come and go on a moment’s notice. He had a big putting week at the Rocket Mortgage, a 1.811 Strokes Gained Putting score leading to his runner-up position. But then one week later at the John Deere Classic, he registered -1.17 Strokes Gained Putting and failed to make the cut.

So a big part of the question is whether Merritt’s putting game will show up this week. When it does, he’s pretty good.