LA QUINTA, Calif. -- Ted Potter Jr., who is playing in just his second PGA TOUR event, has moved within a shot of the lead currently held by Camilo Villegas.

Villegas is 8 under through 15 holes while Potter is tied for second with David Toms. Villegas and Potter, who has played 14 holes, are playing the Nicklaus Course, while Toms is through 13 at La Quinta.

Potter should have come to the Coachello Valley with confidence. The Nationwide Tour grad tied for 13th in his PGA TOUR debut at the Sony Open, shooting three rounds in the 60s at Waialae last week.

Another rookie, Bud Cauley, is among three players tied at 6 under through 14 holes at La Quinta. Also in that group are Brandt Snedeker and Kevin Sutherland, both of whom are playing the Nicklaus Course and are through 12 and 13 holes, respectively.

By Helen Ross, PGATOUR.COM

LEMONT, Ill. -- Camilo Villegas played brilliantly on the back nine Sunday at Cog Hill. Until he came to the 18th hole, that is.

The talented young Colombian had reeled off five of his nine birdies on the homeward stretch and had moved to 28th in the FedExCup. By the time Villegas came to the daunting par 4, though, he was ranked 32nd and the bogey effectively sealed his fate, sending him down to 37th.

Even so, Villegas, who came into the final regular season event on the bubble at No. 125, had made a valiant effort to play his way into the TOUR Championship by Coca-Cola for the fourth time in the last five years.

He moved to 109th with a tie for ninth in Greensboro and jumped 58 spots when he shared sixth at The Barclays. Villegas then tied for 25th at the Deutsche Bank Championship to move to No. 47 as the BMW Championship began.

Villegas likely needed to finish fifth or better on Sunday to make the field at East Lake, where he won in 2008. The former BMW champ was tied for fourth when he came to the 18th hole but the 4-footer he missed to save par proved costly.

"I played pretty good all day," Villegas said. "Tough day out there to make how many birdies, a ton, maybe ‑‑ six, I wish, but maybe five on the back nine, and I made four bogeys that killed me and obviously put myself in bad position, then recovered.

“Had an easy putt (at 18) I just pushed it a little bit. But you know what? It was a fun day. It was a challenge out there. I truly believe it's going to cost me -- that putt."

As disappointed as Villegas was, he tried to look on the bright side. His two top-10s in the last three tournaments brought his total for the year to three and his improved play during this crucial stretch was something on which to build.

"You know what? it's been a pretty crappy year and the last few weeks we turned it around a little  bit to the positive side," Villegas said. "Looking forward to finishing strong and keep it going."

LEMONT, Ill. – Camilo Villegas made a late charge to climb into the top 30 in FedExCup points, but a bogey at the par-4 18th hole likely will prevent him from advancing to next week’s TOUR Championship by Coca-Cola.

Villegas missed a four-foot par putt at 18th, his only bogey on a back nine in which he had produced five birdies in a seven-hole stretch that moved him briefly into the top 30.

After his bogey, Villegas is now projected to finish 37th. He started the week 47th in points.

A par at 18 may not have kept Villegas alive for the Playoffs. He likely needed to birdie the 18th to give himself a shot. But a poor drive prevented him from finding the green with his second shot. He made a nice chip in an attempt to save par, but couldn’t hole the short putt.

By Mike McAllister, PGATOUR.COM

LEMONT, Ill. -- Cog Hill has treated Camilo Villegas pretty well. In his last three trips here, he's finished tied for 11th or better each time.

And the BMW Championship has treated him pretty well, too. Besides his positive results at Cog Hill, he also won the 2008 BMW Championship at Bellerive in St. Louis.

So maybe it's no surprise that he's out to a fast start this week, shooting a 3-under 68 that puts him tied for fifth, five shots behind tournament leader Justin Rose.

"I've definitely played good on this golf course," he said.

And he's definitely playing with momentum this week. With his back against the wall -- in terms of his FedExCup position -- going into the Wyndham Championship last month, Villegas has reeled off a tie for ninth at Greensboro, a tie for sixth at The Barclays and a tie for 25th at the Deutsche Bank Championship.

He still has work to do in order to advance to next week's TOUR Championship by Coca-Cola. He started this week 47th in points but is projected to be 30th after Thursday's round. That would give him the last spot at East Lake.

What has he found lately in his game?

"A lot of people have asked me that same question," Villegas said. "Being honest, it's a funky game, crazy game. Who knows?

"I've had a great attitude all year through the bad times and the average times and now I've been playing a little better. I'm excited and just got to keep it going."

Notes from the third and final round of The Barclays, the opening event in the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup. ( Click here for updated FedExCup standings): WHO’S ELIMINATED: With the conclusion of The Barclays, the field in the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup has been trimmed from 125 to 100 players. Officially being eliminated Saturday at Plainfield Country Club were Bryce Molder, Josh Teater, Hunter Haas, Chris DiMarco, Paul Goydos, D.J. Trahan, Nick O’Hern, Matt Bettencourt, Arjun Atwal, Tim Herron, Michael Bradley, Retief Goosen, Kevin Stadler, Heath Slocum, Joe Ogilvie, David Hearn,. These 16 join the nine players who were officially eliminated Friday after missing the cut or withdrawing from the tournament: Tom Gillis, Michael Thompson, Vaughn Taylor, Rod Pampling, Billy Mayfair, James Driscoll, Steven Bowditch, Steve Flesch and Stuart Appleby. TRENDING UP: The 2011 Playoffs took on a very 2008 feel this week. The 2008 FedExCup runner-up, Camilo Villegas, was No. 125 in the standings and in danger of missing the Playoffs two weeks ago. He is now at No. 51, probably safe through to the BMW Championship, after a 51-spot jump this week at The Barclays. Villegas finished tied for sixth at The Barclays a week after a T9 finish at the Wyndham Championship got him into the Playoffs. … Vijay Singh, who won the FedExCup in 2008, got his putter rolling and led the field in birdies as he tied for third and moved up to eighth in the FedExCup standings. … Padraig Harrington and William McGirt were the last two in the Playoffs and both moved on to the Deutsche Bank Championship. Harrington tied for 13th at The Barclays and moved 44 spots to No. 80 in the FedExCup standings. McGirt isn’t far from the “last man in” at TPC Boston, where he will open the week at 90th in the FedExCup standings. TRENDING DOWN: Ben Crane fell from No. 86 to No. 100 in the FedExCup standings, finishing just three points away from being the highest-ranked player to be eliminated from the Playoffs at The Barclays. Crane made it to the TOUR Championship by Coca-Cola last year and has played in the BMW Championship each of the last three seasons. He has his work cut out for him if he wants to make it four straight trips to Chicago. … Geoff Ogilvy has played 16 of 17 events in the history of the Playoffs but after a missed cut at The Barclays, he fell to 91st in the FedExCup standings and in need of a strong showing next week to move on. … Andres Romero’s quest for survival was a compelling story during the 2010 Playoffs. Romero, after this week’s T64 finish, is on the bubble again at No. 72 in the FedExCup standings. The 30-year-old has finished outside the top 40 in his last two starts and will need to rebound to move on to the third event of the Playoffs. TOP FIVE: Here’s how the top five players in FedExCup points going into this week performed on Saturday. The top five in points going into the final event of the Playoffs, the TOUR Championship by Coca-Cola, will control their own destiny.

Rank	Player	Last week	Comment
1	Dustin Johnson	19	Picked a great time to get his first win since last year's Playoffs
2	Matt Kuchar	12	Another strong Barclays makes Kuchar a FedExCup threat again
3	Nick Watney	1	Didn't hurt himself with a Sunday 64 and a T10 finish.
4	Webb Simpson	3	Carried momentum from Wyndham win to T10 at Plainfield
5	Luke Donald	4	Started slowly but good weekend moved him ahead of Stricker

DEFENDING CHAMP: Jim Furyk  finished T52 at The Barclays and is one of two players in the field to have maintained their FedExCup standing. Furyk heads to TPC Boston at No. 60 in the standings for the second consecutive week.

EDISON, N.J. -- Getting there may be a challenge with Hurricane Irene rumbling up the East Coast.

But eight players punched their ticket to TPC Boston on Saturday at The Barclays when they moved into the top 100 in the FedExCup standings.

Camilo Villegas made the biggest move -- jumping 58 spots to 51st when he tied for sixth at Plainfield Country Club. Chris Stroud moved up 31 spots, Ian Poulter 36, Padraig Harrington 44, Bill Lunde 18, William McGirt 29, John Merrick 6 and Ernie Els 19 to No. 99.

Poulter and McGirt had two of the biggest challenges in the final round. The colorful Brit birdied four of his last five holes on Saturday to seal the deal while McGirt, who was the last man to make the field for the first event in the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup, clocked in at No. 101 until he made a birdie on the 17th hole.

Falling out of the top 100 were Bryce Molder, Hunter Haas, Chris DiMarco, Paul Goydos, Nick o'Hern, Matt Bettencourt, Tim Herron and Michael Bradley. Of that group only Molder made the cut and his closing 70 and tie for 65th simply wasn't enough.

By Helen Ross, PGATOUR.COM

EDISON, N.J. -- Camilo Villegas would be the first to tell you that he hasn't had the kind of year he wanted. But the Colombian has certainly picked the right time to come alive during the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup.

Villegas started last week at the Wyndham Championship -- in what the NCAA would call a "play-in game" if this were college basketball -- ranked 125th in the standings and moved up 16 spots with his tie for ninth. He then tied for sixth on Saturday at The Barclays and this time jumped a whopping 58 spots all the way to 51st.

Suddenly Villegas is in good shape to make the field for the BMW Championship, a tournament he won in 2009, as well certain to be playing at TPC Boston next week. Only the top 70 after the Deutsche Bank Championship are headed to Chicago for the BMW Championship.

"It's been while playing crappy and it's not a fun job when you're not playing good," Villegas said. "So it's time to turn it around, play some good golf and have more fun, I guess."

Toward that end, Villegas said he's found himself showing more emotion on the course of late. In some ways that’s contrary to conventional wisdom of players needed to stay on an even keel but it’s working for him.

"I've been a little more nervous, but at the same time … a little more,” Villegas paused, searching for the right word. “The feelings are a little stronger. I get out there and I get mad a little  bit more but I get excited a little bit more, too. I know sometimes some people say you should be very level and things like that, but I think it's a good thing for me right now to get a little more excited because it hasn't been a fun year.

"It's been a grind and the last two weeks were fun."

Villegas hit all 18 greens in regulation on Saturday as he fired a 65 in the final round to move to 14 under. It marked the sixth straight time he'd broken 70 and Villegas ended the week ranked tied for ninth in greens in regulation, 18th in fairways hit and 23rd in putting.

"This week, it's killing me a little  bit to know how bad I putted the last few days," Villegas, who needed 30 on Saturday, said. "I hit the  ball so good the last two days and I hit so many iron shots close in there that I know  I left some out there."

The way he’s playing, Villegas will probably find them next week at TPC Boston.

PLAYOFFS:  Field Study | Points scenarios | Bubble watch | Questions | Guidebook | Season-saving potential By Chris Dunham, PGATOUR.COM Peaking at the right time is crucial to finding success in the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup. For the two past FedExCup champions playing this week, their games just may be coming around at the right time. Vijay Singh, the 2008 FedExCup champion, started strong this year but did not crack the top 25 in a tournament in June or July. After a tie for fourth at last week’s Wyndham Championship, however, Singh moved back up to 36th in the standings. Jim Furyk, who returns to defend the FedExCup title, hasn’t had a big-FedExCup-points week this season with a trio of T9 finishes being his high marks. In the stretch of 13 starts between his T9 at Bay Hill and last week’s T9 in Greensboro, Furyk missed five cuts and never cracked the top 20. Furyk, like many others, has found something now with a long putter. He was in contention after 45 strong holes at the PGA Championship and last week he posted four rounds in the 60s at the Wyndham Championship. He knows that one more good week can land him, or anyone, right in the thick of the FedExCup race. “If I was able to go out and win one of the next three events, all of the sudden you've got yourself in a situation where you could win the FedExCup again,” he said. Past champions Furyk (10 Playoffs top-20s) and Singh (four top 20s, two wins) know that big week is all it takes and have done it before. BUBBLE WATCH: A number of notable names will have their eyes filled with “Bubble Vision” this week.. Major champions Graeme McDowell (93rd), Retief Goosen (101st), Ernie Els (118th) and Padraig Harrington (124th) all have work to do to move on to the Deutsche Bank Championship. Others on the bubble include former Playoffs standouts Camilo Villegas (109th) and Heath Slocum (112th), as well as 2010 PGA TOUR winners like Anthony Kim (92nd), Stuart Appleby (113th) and Ian Poulter (114th). Kodak Challenge leader Bill Lunde checks in this week at No. 103, also needing a good Barclays showing. In two years under the current FedExCup points distribution format, just nine players have moved from outside the top 100 into the Deutsche Bank Championship field. It’s a safe bet that more than a couple of the names listed above will be eliminated this week. PICKS GALORE: In addition to the weekly Expert Picks feature, the PGATOUR.COM panel predicted who they think will win the FedExCup and who they believe will make the biggest move in the Playoffs. See any picks you like or think we’ve missed on? Let us know in the comments below.