The leaders are on the back nine in the third round at TPC Summerlin, and the top three are putting some space between themselves and the field.

Brendon de Jonge continues to lead at 17 under after a 3 under effort on the front nine, two shots ahead of Ryan Moore. Jonas Blixt is only even par for his third round after a pair of 64s in the first two rounds, and is three shots off de Jonge’s pace.

After that, there’s two more shots back to Tim Herron, Colt Knost and Josh Teater at 12 under. Knost and Teater are 5 under for their third rounds, but five back of the lead.

Ryan Moore shot a 10-under 61 Thursday, tying a course record to take a one-shot lead over Brendon de Jonge after the first round of the Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open.

Tim Herron and John Huh are another stroke back at 8 under.

Huh, who won earlier this year in Mexico, was the lone rookie to finish the FedExCup portion of the season in the top 30 and appears likely headed toward Rookie of the Yea honors.

Justin Leonard is one of three players tied at 7 under, while Las Vegas resident Nick Watney is at 5 under along with Vijay Singh.

Defending champion Kevin Na is 3 under and tied for 29th.

Halleran/Getty Images

Ryan Moore matched his career low round Thursday in Las Vegas.

Ryan Moore was closing in on golf’s historic number -- then he three-putted from 34 feet on his penultimate hole.

Instead of a 59, Moore settled for a course-record tying 61 ( click here to replay his round ). It also matches his career low round on the PGA TOUR -- he shot 61 in the second round of the Humana Challenge in partnership with the Clinton Foundation earlier this year.

“On a golf course like this and playing in these conditions it is right now; no wind and perfect temperature, greens are reasonably soft and rolling nice on top of that … It's one of those days that you just keep putting it in play,” Moore said. “You know you're going to have a bunch of pitching wedges, 9-irons, 8-irons into these greens, and a few shorter irons, too. I'm going to have enough pretty darn good birdie chances if I'm just in the fairway with them.”

It’s also the second straight year someone has shot 61 at TPC Summerlin. Hunter Haas did it last year in the second round before finishing in a tie for 10th.

In 1991, Chip Beck shot a 59 in this tournament, but that came at Sunrise Golf Club.

Moore, who began his round on the back nine at TPC Summerlin, went out in 29 with five birdies and an eagle. The latter came when he drove the short par-4 15th then sank an 11-foot putt.

Moore, who played collegiately at UNLV and has three top-25 finishes in six starts in Las Vegas, added three more birdies on the front nine before making a bogey on the par-4 eighth hole and another birdie on the par-5 ninth.

“I’m comfortable with the tee shots and the lines and where you can hit it through or what you can carry,” he said. “Just all the little things.”

By Helen Ross, PGATOUR.COM

ATLANTA -- When the FedExCup Playoffs began, Ryan Moore was hardly a shoo-in to make the TOUR Championship by Coca-Cola.

He ranked 64th in the standings, and Moore needed a tie for 10th at the BMW Championship two weeks ago just to sneak into the top 30. Once Moore got to East Lake, though, he made the most of the opportunity -- owning a share of the lead on the back nine Sunday and finishing in a tie for third.

Moore pulled even with Brandt Snedeker at 9 under when he made consecutive birdies at the 14th and 15th holes. Then he began to unravel, making three straight bogeys coming home.

“I was excited to kind of get in the mix, and at least make it a little interesting there for a while,” Moore said. "It just came down to the last three holes. They're tough golf holes, and I didn't hit good shots on them.

“So they'll sneak up on you really quick if you don't put them in the right spots, and unfortunately, that's what got me."

That said, Moore couldn't be too disappointed. He led the field in fairways hit, which was key this week t East Lake -- and for Moore, in particular -- and shot par or better all four rounds on a course that flummoxed some of the game's best.

"I can't launch it high and soft out of the rough," Moore said. "So I have to be in the fairway. … This whole week I viewed it as a bonus. I was 64th going into the FedExCup, and just to even be here was a big accomplishment, let alone to have a top five here at the end of the season.”

Moore feels the key to his late-season surge -- he finished 10th or better in the last three Playoffs events -- was his putter. At the same time. the UNLV grad went back to basics and started trusting himself, rather than obsessing about his game.

"I kind of just embraced a little bit of who I am as a golfer these last four weeks, and I just played golf," Moore said. "I wasn't thinking about my swing.  ... It's like sometimes you've just got to go play.  … Just play hard this last month going into the off season, and then you've got a couple of months to go work on some things and get some stuff straightened out.
   
"But it gave me some confidence that I don't need to do that much and I can be right there and in contention. ... Just by playing my own game, playing golf, how Ryan Moore plays golf. That's encouraging and something to build on."

ATLANTA -- Ryan Moore had to play his way into the TOUR Championship by Coca-Cola two weeks ago.

He started the BMW Championship ranked 35th in the FedExCup but moved into the top 30 when he tied for 10th at Crooked Stick. Moore closed with a 70 that day that included an important birdie on the 18th hole.

Moore is continuing that determined play early at East Lake where he's birdied three of his first four holes. He's two strokes ahead of John Huh, Ernie Els and Bo Van Pelt with half the field on the course.

Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods are in the final group and will tee off at 1:55 p.m. 

The top 30 in FedExCup points are headed to East Lake for the TOUR Championship by Coca-Cola. Here’s a look at Ryan Moore, one of the 30 players who will contend for the FedExCup title.

SCENARIOS TO WIN FEDEXCUP: For Moore to win the FedExCup, he MUST win the TOUR Championship and have the following scenarios fall into place:
> Rory McIlroy (No. 1) finishes 25th* or worse
> Tiger Woods (No. 2) finishes T-6 or worse
> Nick Watney (No. 3) finishes T-4 or worse
> Phil Mickelson (No. 4) finishes T-3 or worse
> Brandt Snedeker (No. 5) finishes in a 3-way tie for 2nd or worse
> Louis Oosthuizen (No. 6) finishes T-2 or worse
*Tie for the FedExCup
Click here for scenarios of every player

SEASON IN REVIEW: Moore hasn't won since the 2009 Wyndham Championship but six top-10s in 2012 show that he continues to put himself in contention. He showed the same kind of determination in the FedExCup Playoffs where started 64th and steadily made his way into the top 30, jumping seven spots with a tie for 10th at the BMW Championship. He rallied back from three bogeys on the back nine with a birdie at the 18th to assure his spot. – Helen Ross

PATH TO TOUR CHAMPIONSHIP: Here’s a look at Moore’s results in the first three events of the 2012 FedExCup Playoffs.
Click here for Playoffs Tracker of every player.

Tournament
Tournament finish	T-24	T-10	T-10
FEC ranking after event	53rd	35th	28th

PREVIOUS FEDEXCUP FINISHES: Here is how Moore has finished in previous Playoffs appearances:

	2011	2010	2009	2008	2007
FedExCup finish	37th	21st	47th	87th	52nd

EAST LAKE HISTORY: Moore has one previous PGA TOUR start at East Lake. He tied for ninth in 2010, shooting 68-69 on the weekend.

ALBERS’ QUICK TAKE: Fred Albers, on-course correspondent for SiriusXM PGA TOUR Radio, provides a quick look at Moore:
Marches to the beat of a different drummer.  Not afraid to be different.  His swing is unorthodox but not his putting stroke.  Ryan is a very good putter and that makes him dangerous at East Lake.

WATCH: Ryan Moore hits hole-in-one at Arnold Palmer Invitatioanal

PLAYER PAGE: Click here for more on Ryan Moore

Now it’s your turn. How do you think Moore will fare at the TOUR Championship by Coca-Cola?

By Helen Ross, PGATOUR.COM

CARMEL, Ind. -- Ryan Moore has been one round away from a really explosive run in the FedExCup Playoffs.

So at the start of the BMW Championship, he found himself on the outside looking in at 35th in the standings -- five spots away from making the field at East Lake for the second time in his career.

Moore appears to be taking care of business this week at Crooked Stick, though, firing his second straight 66 on Friday to sit one stroke off the lead. He's tied at 12 under with Rory McIlroy, who leads the FedExCup standings, and Tiger Woods after they shot rounds of 68 and 67, respectively.

Not to mention, he’s moved  to 11th in the FedExCup projections.

"It was just another really good, solid round, putting the ball in the fairway, and then with the ball in hand, that's nice," Moore said. "Hitting good, solid iron shots and really just converting. Any reasonable chance for birdie I had, I pretty much made it."

Moore, who has only made one bogey over the first two rounds at Crooked Stick, was tied for sixth entering the final round of The Barclays, which is the first event in the Playoffs. He closed with a 75, though, and dropped back into a tie for 24th overall.

At last week's Deutsche Bank Championship, Moore was once again playing well and was tied for fifth through three rounds. But a one-over 72 on Labor Day dropped him back into a tie for 10th.

"I've had a lot of those tournaments this year where I've gotten myself up where I want to be and haven't necessarily done what I've wanted to on the weekend," Moore acknowledged. "... Ended up with good, solid finishes, but I was right up in the top 7 or 8 a large majority of the tournament."

Moore said he made an adjustment to his alignment and he started putting better last week. He's used just 53 in the first two rounds, which has him tied for ninth among the field. More importantly, he's second in strokes-gained putting and tied for first in distance of putts made.

"I hit the ball great in New York and really have been hitting it well for the last few months and just not putting up to my standards," Moore said. "Just worked on it, refined it a little bit last week and started feeling comfortable over it, and now I'm to the point of actually feeling good over my putts and actually feeling a little bit of confidence.
   
"It's amazing what that can do, and it's just simple things. It's nothing too complicated. I'm really looking forward to this weekend."

NORTON, Mass. – Ryan Moore and Seung-Yul Noh played together for the first 36 holes of the Deutsche Bank Championship. It was a successful group for both players.

Moore posted a 3-under 68 in Saturday’s second round that leaves him at 10 under, just two shots off the lead currently held by Rory McIlroy. Noh followed his sizzling 62 in Friday’s first round with an even-par 71 on Saturday, keeping him at 9 under.

The players came into this week next to each other in the FedExCup points standings – Moore at 53, Noh at 54. Both will safely move on to next week’s BMW Championship when the FedExCup Playoffs field is reduced to the top 70.

“It’s always nice playing with somebody that’s playing really well,” Moore said. “It makes the cup seem that much bigger when you’ve got somebody else in the group pouring in putts. That was the case yesterday.

“I think we both didn’t play quite as well as we did yesterday, but he’s a great player and I’ve enjoyed playing with him.”

After posting nine birdies without a bogey in the first round, Noh was not as spectacular on Saturday, although he did hole out from 67 feet for eagle at the short par-4 fourth hole.

But he gave those strokes away with a double bogey at the par-3 eighth when he found the bunker left of the green with his tee shot, then blasted out across the green to the rough on the other side. He also had one birdie and one bogey on his round.

Noh said his tee shots were “not too bad” but that his iron play was not good. He also said that when the wind changed direction mid-round, he had a difficult time making adjustments. “Not much chance for a birdie today,” he said.

Given that 62 on Friday, though, the 21-year-old Korean is in great shape heading into the final two rounds.

“Yesterday like perfect round,” he said. “That’s golf. One day is perfect, one day is bad, one day is good. I think not too bad today.”

Moore felt the same way.

He opened with a bogey but reeled off three straight birdies starting with the 12th hole. After a bogey at 15, he bounced back with a birdie at the 16th, then eagled with par-5 18th when his second shot landed five feet from the pin.

Moore said his putter cooled off on his final nine holes Saturday – the difference between his 68 and the opening 64 he shot on Friday.

“I hit good putts and just burned the edges,” he said. “That’s how it goes sometimes. I’m happy with how I’m putting and how I’m rolling it. Just going to go work on the alignment a little bit and get it squared away.”