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GREENSBORO - Like many others in the Wyndham Championship field, J.J. Henry put together three straight rounds in the 60s, closing with a 62 on Sunday. The difference is that he did it with a looming -- if pleasant -- distraction. His wife, Lee, is due to give birth to the couple's second child today in Fort Worth, Texas.

And then there was the issue of whether Henry would make the top 144 on the points list and qualify for the PGA Tour's Fed--Ex Cup playoffs this week.

"It was that kind of week where I had nothing to lose, a win-win whether I play great and move on to next week or, obviously, sometimes there's more important things in life than playing golf," he said.

In the end, Henry was one of five men who played their way into the FedEx Cup playoffs after starting the week on the wrong side of the line, and his 42-spot leap (from 177th to 135th) tied Rich Beem (166th to 114th ) for the largest forward move. The survivors play the Barclay's Championship in Paramus, N.J.

Others crossing the border to safety and a spot in the lucrative playoffs were Lee Janzen (154th to the magic number of 144th), Martin Laird (164th to 128th) and Justin Bolli (153rd to 141st).

Of course, their success came at a cost to others. Marco Dawson, Brett Rumford, Todd Hamilton, Tag Ridings and Gavin Coles dropped out of the top 144.

The rally is nothing new for Beem, who used this tournament a year ago to start an ascent from the 200s and into the playoffs.

"I needed to have a good week just to make it into the first round of the playoffs, so I've got a flight to Austin right now that I'm going to miss because I'm going up to New York," said Beem, the 2002 PGA Championship winner. "And you know, I knew exactly where I was (on the list)."

The most notable -- and perhaps unfortunate -- story was that of Ridings, who entered the week at 140th and missed the Wyndham cut by one stroke when he bogeyed his 36th hole of the tournament.

Dawson, who didn't give a reason for his withdrawal Friday, apparently skipped town to avoid the likelihood of a similar fate.

With one hole left in the second round, he was two shots on the wrong side of the projected cut line, and thunderstorms had stopped play. When the action resumed, Dawson didn't.

Scott McCarron didn't win the Wyndham, but his second-place finish solidified his spot in the playoffs and his PGA Tour membership for 2009. After missing most of 2006 and 2007 with an elbow injury and getting into events this year largely on sponsor exemptions, McCarron has stabilized his career. His best performances seem to coincide with one of the most stressful events in life.

"Seven years ago, my wife and I moved from Sacramento to Reno and in the week we moved, I won in Atlanta," he said. "Seven years later, we're moving this week to Palm Springs from Reno. We've been moving boxes out.

"Selling a house in this market? I was pretty happy about that."

Contact Rob Daniels at 373-7028 or rob.daniels@news-record.com