Appleby's stellar 59 overtakes Overton

Jeff Overton's worst fear came true yesterday in the final round of the inaugural Greenbrier Classic. Despite starting the round with a three-shot lead over the rest of field, he knew conditions were ripe for someone to go low and that he needed to remain aggressive in order to record his first PGA Tour victory and avoid another runner-up finish.

When Stuart Appleby decided to be that someone with a magnificent 59 that included nine birdies and an eagle, Overton could only blame himself for not managing something better than his final-round 67. Appleby managed to make up a seven-shot deficit in just 12 holes and then finished his hard-charging round by birdieing the last three holes in earning a one-shot victory at 22 under.

Jim Nantz and the rest of the CBS broadcast team began to point out how demonstrative Overton was becoming over missed opportunities and noted that his body language was changing (moving quickly and appearing fidgety) as the final stretch of holes began to unfold. Overton, who hit a woefully short iron shot into the final green after missing a short birdie putt on the 17th hole that could have forced a playoff, has said in the past he needs to get out of his own way in order to win but was unable to manage the feat.

Meanwhile, it was obvious watching Appleby that he had entered into the much coveted and often talked about "Zone." He appeared perfectly calm and matter of fact as he marched his way to just the fifth 59 in PGA Tour history, joining Al Geiberger (1977 Memphis Classic), Chip Beck (1991 Las Vegas Invitational), David Duval (1999 Bob Hope Desert Classic) and Paul Goydos (2010 John Deere Classic).

"I was quite comfortable," Appleby said. "It's not a nerve-racking 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."

Overton, a former Big Ten player of the year while attending Indiana, had 34 putts in the final round, three-putting three times.

"I got beat by a 59," said Overton, who had his third runner-up finish of the year and remains winless in five years on the PGA 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."

Appleby, whose previous career low was a 62 in the 2003 Las Vegas Invitational, won for the first time since the 2006 Shell Houston Open. The victory earned him a spot in next week's Bridgestone Invitational in Akron, where the world's top 50 players will compete.

It should be noted that Appleby's achievement was the first 59 on a par-70 course and that he didn't have the advantage of lift, clean and place that Goydos and Geiberger enjoyed. Goydos' came on a par 71 and the others on par 72s. Appleby has no problem with some debating 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."

Information from PGATOUR.com, ESPN.com contributed to this post.