CASTLE ROCK, Colo. -- Tom Pernice, Jr.'s career took a step forward when he won the 2001 INTERNATIONAL.

Zach Johnson wouldn't mind the same thing happening Sunday.

Pernice is hoping another high finish at Castle Pines Sunday will move him up another rung on the ladder -- onto captain Tom Lehman ’s United States Ryder Cup team that will try to regain the trophy from captain Ian Woosnam’s European team Sept. 22-24 at The K Club in Kildare, Ireland.

“I think this place will always have pleasant echoes and memories for me,” said the 46-year-old Kansas City native, who returned to Castle Pines Saturday morning to complete the second round and grabbed the overnight lead from Patrick Sheehan with a round of 8 points and a two-round total of 19.

Pernice struggled through a roller coaster third round, falling as low as 36th, the cutoff for Sunday’s final round, before finishing with zero points for a total of 19, tied for 12th behind third-round leader Johnson, another Ryder Cup hopeful who stands ninth in the points and could sew up a place on the team with a victory.

Johnson started with hole-out eagle at No. 1 and followed with five birdies for a tournament-best 15 points and a three-round total of 27 points, one better than lefty Steve Flesch (13 points) and two better than Lehman (8 points) another Ryder Cup hopeful, Stewart Cink (8 points).

“I made a good bogey on No. 9 to finish the second round,” the 30-year-old Johnson said. “That’s a two-point putt. Making that eagle today on 1 certainly gave me a push in the back.”

Johnson dearly wants to play for his friends Lehman and vice captains Corey Pavin and Loren Roberts.

“In my opinion, (the Ryder Cup) is the largest sporting event in golf,” Johnson said. “Having those guys to kind of guide us would be just an honor.”

After the second round was completed Saturday morning, the third round on the course softened by rain on Friday had more movement than a store full of Swiss watches.

“Three points is really nothing in this kind of scoring system (to make up),” Lehman said. “Anybody who has 18 points and above still has a chance to win.”

There are 24 golfers at 18 points and above, including Sergio Garcia (22 points), long-bomber Bubba Watson (19 points), Pavin (18 points) and defending champion Retief Goosen (18 points).

“This a special place for all the players,” Pernice said, “but for me, it’s a very special spot.”

Indeed, there haven’t been many better celebrations on the 18th green at Castle Pines than Pernice receiving hugs from his daughters Kristen and Brooke, who used her fingers to feel her Dad’s smile and tears after the victory.

Brooke, now 11, has Leber’s Amaurosis, a genetic disease that causes blindness.

“To win here in 2001 and to have my family with me, that was a special moment,” Pernice added.

Imagine, if you will, how the Pernice family will feel if Dad earns a spot on the 12-man U.S. team, either by points or as one of Lehman’s two captain’s picks. Pernice came to Castle Pines ranked 17th in the U.S. team standings with 615 points. Brett Wetterich, who is not playing this week, is 10th with 746 points.

Tom Pernice, Jr. birdied four holes in a row on the back nine of his third round. (Cohen/WireImage)

Points are awarded for top-10 finishes to Americans only. Sunday’s winner, if he’s an American, receives 375 points, while the runner-up, if American, receives 180. The 10th-place finisher receives 20 points.

Next week at the PGA Championship at Medinah Country Club in suburban Chicago, the points run from 675 points for the champion to 40 points for 10th place.

A victory Sunday by Pernice would not only put him in elite company at Castle Pines with two victories at the event (Phil Mickelson and Davis Love III are past champions with a pair of hummingbird trophies) but would zip him up the standings from 17th to sixth, ahead of Chris DiMarco, who missed the 36-hole cut.

Already this season, Pernice has surpassed his single-season earnings mark of $1,608,057 (49th on the money list) last season. In 12 events this season, Pernice has earned $1,777,908 (21st) with five top-10 finishes, including a second at the FedEx St. Jude Classic, a fifth at the Barclays Classic and a seventh last week at the Buick Open.

With so many players to leap over in the last two tournaments, Pernice’s Ryder Cup hopes may rest in Lehman’s hands.

“I’m looking for the right two guys,” Lehman said earlier this week.

“Two guys who can get the ball into the hole. At the end of the day, I want the guys who will be sharpest as the pressure builds, guys who get tuned in.”

Lehman wants a player who has that look in his eye, who has a big heart, and the 5-foot-10, 160-pound Pernice, an all-conference wrestler in high school, foots the bill.

When asked to describe his best characteristics as a golfer, Pernice replied, “Methodical, tough, hard worker.”

Sounds a lot like Lehman, who in three Ryder Cup appearances enjoyed a 5-3-2 record, including 3-0-0 in singles, or one of his vice captains, Pavin, who is 8-5-0 in three past Ryder Cups, including 2-1-0 in singles.

“Match play is all about the challenge,” Lehman said. “It’s about getting on the first tee, looking the other guy in the eye and saying to yourself, ‘There’s no way he’s going to beat me.’”

Tom Pernice, Jr. is one of those players who has the right stuff.