EDISON, N.J. — There was plenty going on around them — Jason Day winning again, Brian Harman making two holes-in-one, an unscheduled appearance by presidential hopeful Donald Trump — but Camilo Villegas and Luke Donald had a singular focus on Sunday at The Barclays.
Both needed to play well enough at Plainfield Country Club to extend their PGA Tour seasons. Both did — Villegas barely — to secure spots in the Deutsche Bank Championship, which starts Friday at TPC Boston.
Only the top 100 players on the tour’s points list qualify for the second playoff event in Norton, Mass., so 20 percent of the 125 who were eligible to play The Barclays would not be moving on. Villegas and Donald, who began the week Nos. 123 and 119, respectively, were in a similar position the week before, when they were scrambling just to make the playoff field. It worked then, and it worked again.
“I got a little anxious out there in the end. I probably made the toughest putt I had all day, at 18,” Villegas said. “If it gives me a chance to play next week, then it gives me a chance. That’s what the playoffs are.”
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Villegas made the 9-footer for par at the last hole, then sweated out the final hour. The par putt proved to be the difference. When play was complete, Villegas was No. 99 on the updated points list, safe to play in the Deutsche Bank Championship. He closed with a Sunday 73 that left him tied for 30th at The Barclays.
Donald was a shot better in a tie for 24th, which bumped him from No. 119 to 87th.
“I certainly felt [pressure] today. I knew what was at stake,” said Donald, who closed with 71. “I just wanted to progress, because you just don’t know when you’re going to catch fire. Next week could be a great week for me, and I go on to win the event, and suddenly I have a chance to win the FedEx Cup. If you’re not in it, you’ve got no chance.”
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Eight players went from outside the top 100 to inside, giving themselves another playoff start. Zac Blair made the biggest move; the rookie tied for fourth at the Barclays — Day shot a final-round 62 and beat Henrik Stenson (66) by six shots, with Bubba Watson (69) third — to jump 61 spots, up to 45th.
In addition to Villegas, Donald, and Blair, the other DBC crashers were Spencer Levin (started 115th/ended 80th), Jason Dufner (103/82), Carlos Ortiz (112/83), Mark Wilson (114/85), and Johnson Wagner (101/92). Wilson (68) and Wagner (69) were projected outside the cutoff at the start of the final round, but played their way in over the final 18 holes.
“Yeah, [getting into the DBC] was the No. 1 goal, but there was a lot. We’re greedy as golfers, aren’t we?” said Wilson. “I really wanted to have a great finish and move into the top 50 so I’m good for Chicago, my hometown. But that wasn’t the case. So there’s a silver lining.”
Eight players jumping into the top 100 meant that eight dropped out. Those were Padraig Harrington (87/103), Greg Owen (90/104), John Peterson (93/105), Adam Scott (94/106), Adam Hadwin (95/107), Charl Schwartzel (96/108), John Huh (97/110), and Francesco Molinari (99/111). All but Molinari missed the cut at the Barclays; Molinari didn’t play, with his wife due to deliver their second child.
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Others came teasingly close to joining the 99-player DBC field (Sergio Garcia is eligible, but choose not to play). Nick Taylor faced a 6-foot putt for birdie at the 18th hole that would have gotten him in. He missed, and finished at No. 101.
“I didn’t play very well today,” said Taylor, a rookie who had to wait a few hours to learn his playoff fate. “I had it in my control and I just didn’t do it.”
Same with Stewart Cink, who bogeyed his last hole to ultimately fall to No. 102. That means no DBC.
“I put myself in this position by not having a very good year, and today I didn’t play very well,” said Cink, who was on the good side of the projection after three rounds, then shot 72. “The goal was to compete in this tournament, to play well here. That other stuff takes care of itself if you play well, so I’m disappointed I didn’t have a better finish here.”
One player who came to The Barclays outside the number and desperately trying to play his way in was Hopkinton native Jon Curran, who is finishing up his rookie season and said in late June, “Right now my goal is to get into the Deutsche Bank Championship.” Curran had work to do; at No. 105 on the points list, he needed a finish of 48th or better to get the necessary bump into the top 100. But he missed the cut, ending his playoff run.
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Keegan Bradley, Curran’s teammate at Hopkinton High School, also missed The Barclays cut. But Bradley was No. 62, and safely through to TPC Boston. Now that he’s slipped to No. 71, Bradley will be right on the bubble this week. Only the top 70 advance to the third playoff event, the BMW Championship near Chicago, so Bradley (and everyone else from Nos. 71-100) will need to make the cut in Norton, then play well enough on the weekend to jump inside the new number.
Michael Whitmer can be reached at mwhitmer@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @GlobeWhitmer.