Greenbrier Classic: Appleby wins with brilliant 59
In nearly 100 years of the PGA Tour, the lowest score ever shot in any tournament is 59. That magic number has only been accomplished on four previous occasions (one of them last month, when Paul Goydos surprised everyone at the John Deere Classic).
That was until yesterday, when at the Old White Course, West Virginia, Stuart Appleby won the Greenbrier Classic in style, shooting nine birdies and an eagle to finish 11-under-par 59 - a score that meant he would beat Jeff Overton by a single stroke.
Overton had led the Australian by seven strokes when play began yesterday, but could only come home three-under-par in his final round. After shooting level par on the 1st, Appleby went on to shoot six birdies in eight holes. The 39-year-old started the back nine with a pair of level pars, but then eagled the par 5 12th after comfortably reaching the green in two.
Appleby kept a cool head right to the end, birdying the 18th having also birdied the previous two holes for a total of 22-under for the tournament. Playing a few groups behind, Overton could only find one birdie on the last seven holes, and his failure to dig deeper gave Appleby his first victory since the Australian won the Shell Houston Open in 2006. Overton is yet to claim his first win.
The player seemed entirely unfazed by his achievement; commenting on the 59 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."
South Africa's Brendan de Jonge was in third place on 17-under, while amongst those tied for fourth place on 15-under were Woody Austin, Paul Stankowski, Roger Tambellini, Jimmy Walker and D A Points, all from the US.
The highest-ranked player in the competition, Jim Furyk, finished in a tie for ninth place on 14-under, while last week's Scandinavian Masters winner Richard S Johnson was the highest placed European, tied for 21st place on 12-under-par. Another notable name, if not finish, was Spain's Sergio Garcia on eight-under-par, tied for 60th place.
But if Garcia is floundering right now, Appleby appears unflappable. "I knew I had to make it - I knew I had to make it for the tournament, I knew I had to make it to have a 59. The cards had been laying out perfectly for me all day. Why wasn't I going to do one more?"
Why indeed? Of course, earlier this year on the Japan Tour, 18-year-old Ryo Ishikawa shot a 58. Maybe the PGA Tour needs to start aiming lower.
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