Last birdie to win tourney?

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This article was published 01/08/2010 (5842 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, W.Va. — Jeff Overton saw J.B. Holmes and D.A. Points flirt with 59s, then rode his own hot finish to move within a round of his first PGA Tour win.

Overton overcame two early bogeys for a 4-under 66 on Saturday and a three-stroke lead over Points at the Greenbrier Classic.

Overton didn’t realize his four-shot lead was gone until after Points made a barrage of birdies to jump ahead by three strokes.

"If anything it might have helped me because I was like, ‘Geez, what are you doing here, Jeff?"’ Overton said. "Here he is three shots up. I was like, ‘All right, we’ve got to get something going here.’ I kind of buckled in and made some putts."

Overton made five birdies on the back nine of the Old White course to move to 18 under through three rounds in the inaugural tournament.

The 27-year-old Overton kept the lead despite the low rounds of the year from Points and Holmes, but their dreams of making history with 59s ended on the 572-yard 17th.

Points three-putted for bogey, finished with a 61 and is alone in second at 15 under, and Holmes couldn’t convert a 10-footer for eagle at No. 17 and shot 60.

Boo Weekley shot a 67 to reach 13 under, and Holmes is in a four-way tie for fourth with Jonathan Byrd (64), Brendon de Jonge (65) and Jimmy Walker (67) at 12 under.

Calgary’s Stephen Ames fired a 67 to finish the round 10 shots back. Graham DeLaet of Weyburn, Sask., (66) is 11 shots behind.

Holmes was among 17 players who made the 36-hole cut on the number. He looks to repeat the performance of Carl Pettersson, who a week ago also made the cut on the number at the Canadian Open, shot 60 in the third round and eventually won by a stroke.

"You know it’s possible," said Holmes, whose two PGA Tour wins came at the FBR Open in 2006 and 2008. "Maybe I get hot two days in a row and shoot 60, 60."

Overton didn’t come close to matching the 62 he shot Friday, his best round of the year. He led Weekley by four shots to start his day but bogeyed Nos. 2 and 5.

By then, Points had nine birdies in his first 13 holes.

Despite difficulty finding greens in his round, Overton answered with five birdies down the stretch, including short putts at Nos. 16 and 17.

Overton, a former Big Ten player of the year at Indiana, is having his best season with four top-five finishes.

Among three golfers tied for eighth place at 11 under is double heart transplant recipient Erik Compton, seeking his first top-10 Tour finish.

"Right now I’m pretty far back," Compton said. "I just need to go out and have a round like J.B. had. Just got to get hot."

— The Associated Press