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By Helen Ross
PGATOUR.com Chief of Correspondents

NORTON, Mass. -- Several months ago, Rich Beem was watching an episode of ABC's "Extreme Makeover Home Edition," and Ty Pennington's design team was helping the family of a man who had just lost his battle with cancer.

Rich Beem is enjoying his march through the Playoffs. (Mike Ehrmann/WireImage)

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

RICH BEEM'S 2007 STATS

Category Total Rank Driving Distance 290.5 yds. 79 Driving Accuracy 65.24% 58 Greens in Regulation 63.25% 110 Putts Per Round 29.63 144 Sand Saves 44.92% 141 Scoring Average 71.05 124 FedExCup Points 87,063 113 Money Leaders $695,823 109

• Rich Beem's Player Page

Even as he fought the ravages of the disease, the man and his family adhered to this motto: There's a lot of things to think about but nothing to worry about." Beem was so struck by the words -- and the sentiment behind them -- that he had them embroidered on his golf bag.

That's the way he seems to be playing golf these days, too. For the second straight week in the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup, Beem is relaxed, rejuvenated and bidding to buck the odds.

A week ago at The Barclays, he was 134th on the FedExCup points list. But Beem played his way into the top 120 and advanced to the Deutsche Bank Championship thanks to that tie for seventh at Westchester Country Club.

Beem came to the TPC Boston ranked 113th, as a result. This week, though, the task is even more daunting -- he needs to improve 43 spots to make it to the third Playoff event at Cog Hill.

To control his own destiny, Beem probably needs to finish second. But as he found out at The Barclays where the projection was similar, the actual number might not be that high. He'll just have to see what everyone else does.

Beem's given himself a chance, too, after Saturday's 66 that moved him into a tie for first with Aaron Baddeley and Mike Weir at 9 under par. It was the eighth time Beem had shot in the 60s in his last 10 rounds.

"It's kind of crazy how this is all coming together, but I sure am having some fun," Beem said. "I've made it interesting for myself. I'm having a damn sure lot of fun out there, and I think it's showing.

"I've just got to keep moving forward and hopefully the guys that are behind me won't do anything crazy. I know that the 'Big Three' (Phil Mickelson, Vijay Singh and Tiger Woods) had some really good rounds today. I'm sure the fans were excited to see that.

"But I've just got to keep trying to make some putts, and who knows?"

After 36 holes at the TPC Boston, Beem had improved 71 spots in the projected FedExCup standings and was well within the top 70. There are still two rounds to play, of course, but Beem is as confident as he's been all year right now.

"I wouldn't say I've got nothing to lose, but I feel like I've been playing well," he said. "I just haven't had things go my way. ... I might have putted well one day, chipped well, whatever the case may be, I just haven't put it all together and played well. I've felt for a long time that it's been close, and finally it's kind of breaking through. Like I said, it's a lot of fun."

"I can't put one thing -- it's everything that's clicking. It's all going well right now, but I think what I'm doing best is I'm managing my marbles up here a little bit better right now. I've got them a little more aligned instead of scattered, which is fun."

Beem was nothing if not resilient on Saturday, responding to back-to-back bogeys with a string of four straight birdies to close out his round. He rolled in birdie putts of 4, 10, 7 and 7 feet during that stretch to polish off the 66 and tie for the lead.

Contending at The Barclays, Beem admitted, was a confidence-builder, and he now has a chance for his first victory since the 2002 PGA Championship.

"It helped out coming down the stretch today ... when I started making a few birdies, and I knew that Baddeley was in at 9 under and I wanted to get to 9 under," Beem said.

"Once you get in that position and you kind of get the nerves settled and whatnot, then once you get back in that position the following week, then it's easier. It certainly was going to help out a lot, or at least I'm expecting it to anyways."