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With a potential Ryder Cup spot on the line, all Daniel Berger did in the third round of the Travelers Championship was shoot a 62 with nine birdies and extend his lead to three at 15 under over Tyrone Van Aswegen, Russell Knox and Russell Henley. It was an impressive show from somebody who knows he's playing for more than a trophy and a $1 million check.

In fact, the Travelers Championship winner gets exactly $1,188,000. Why does that matter? That translates to 1,188 Ryder Cup points which, if nobody else moved after play this weekend, would move him up to 11th place in the standings (unfortunately for Berger, several players ahead of him are playing and will move up slightly).

Either way, if he wins, he'll be heavily involved in the conversation for Hazeltine. He knows that, and it's tough to ignore, but with a 62 on the third round it's clear he's been successful so far.

"It'll be a lot easier stepping up on the tee box having a PGA Tour win under my belt than if I didn't," said Berger who won the St. Jude Classic in June. "It's all about hitting good shots under pressure, and I've been doing that so far this week. If I can continue to do that, then I'm sure I'll be right there on Sunday."

Berger is No. 1 in the field this week in approach shots and eighth in putting. He got crazy hot on Saturday with the flat stick though, needing just 26 total putts to get through the round.

"I made a ton of putts, and that's been a big key for me," added Berger. "I've been putting really good the last couple months or so ... yeah, just go have fun tomorrow. Can't really control anything other than how much fun I have. My caddie Grant Berry and I split up in the beginning of the year, and I didn't play that great, and everyone was starting to say sophomore slump, and that kind of got me upset a little bit. Not upset but kind of like, 'all right, let's get going here,' and I started practicing a little harder which probably is the only reason why I'm playing better."

Berger hasn't shied away from the Ryder Cup talk, and he'll play with it on his mind on Sunday. Even if he doesn't end up on the team though, two wins in a single season would be massive for the 23-year-old budding star.

"I would say I'm keeping track of the Ryder Cup. I haven't looked at the rankings since I won ... Captain Love has texted me a few times because I wanted to kind of keep him informed on where I'm at. Like, 'listen, I'm not done for the year, I'm just making sure that when I come back, I'm 100 percent.' And that's my biggest goal this year. I mean, I want to play on the Ryder Cup."

Another big round on Sunday and he legitimately could be.

"My dad played in the Davis Cup, which is tennis' equivalent of the Ryder Cup, so I think that would be pretty cool to have father and son play Davis Cup and Ryder Cup," said Berger. "So that's one of my goals."