WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, W.Va. — Stuart Appleby felt opportunity, not nerves, as he started running out of real estate in the chase for golf’s magic number 59.
The Australian birdied the final three holes with putts of 15 feet or shorter Sunday to become the fifth PGA Tour player to reach the low-round record and win the Greenbrier Classic by a shot.
He also broke a four-year winless drought when third-round leader Jeff Overton narrowly missed a long birdie try on the par-3 18th that would have forced a playoff.
“I was quite comfortable,” Appleby said. “It’s not a nerve-wracking thing to be involved in. I had a lot of opportunities and I made them. It was great to do that to win the tournament.”
Appleby’s 11-under-par round on the Old White course put him at 22-under for the tournament. Overton, playing three groups behind Appleby, shot 67 to finish at 21-under.
“I did the math. I was chasing Jeff, who was heading toward the finish line,” Appleby said. “At the same time, I was playing well, and I thought if I could keep making birdies . . . There was plenty of (birdie chances) coming in.”
Appleby’s round came less than a month after Paul Goydos shot a 59 at the John Deere Classic. The others to shoot 59 were Al Geiberger at the 1977 Memphis Classic, Chip Beck at the 1991 Las Vegas Invitational and David Duval at the 1999 Bob Hope Classic.
Appleby had nine birdies and an eagle in his round. He saw playing partner D.A. Points flirt with a 59 on Saturday before settling for a 61.
Appleby won for the first time since the 2006 Houston Open. His previous career low was 62 in the 2003 Las Vegas Invitational.
Appleby’s achievement was the first 59 on a par-70 course.
Goydos’ came on a par 71 and the others on par 72s. Appleby understands there might be some debate about whether his achievement is right up there with the others.
“I agree,” he said. “I can see both sides of the fence. It is a number. I shot that number. But who says par is supposed to be 72? There’s a lot of great courses that aren’t 72.”
Appleby didn’t have the advantage of lift, clean and place that Goydos and Geiberger enjoyed, even though overnight rains left mud on some balls.
Appleby trailed Overton by seven strokes to start his round, shot 6-under 28 on the front nine and eagled the par-5 12th before settling for three straight pars.
Overton had 34 putts in the final round, three-putting three times.
“I got beat by a 59,” said Overton, who remains winless in five years on the Tour. “What can you say? I played great, hit a lot of great shots. You can’t win golf tournaments when you putt it that bad.”
Brendon de Jonge (65) finished third at 17-under. Tied at 15-under were Points (70), Woody Austin (63), Paul Stankowski (64), Roger Tambellini (65) and Jimmy Walker (67).
