Overton leads Greenbrier Classic by 3; 2 others miss chances at 59

Overton has 3-shot lead at Greenbrier Classic

WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, W.Va. — Jeff Overton overcame a tough start to shoot 4-under 66 Saturday for a three-stroke lead entering the final round of the inaugural Greenbrier Classic.

Overton made five birdies on the back nine of the Old White course to move to 18 under.

The second-round leader kept the lead despite a pair of others flirting with 59. D.A. Points three-putted the par-5 17th for bogey, finished with a 61 and is alone in second at 15 under, and J.B. 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 for the tournament.

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.

Double heart transplant recipient Erik Compton, seeking his first top-10 PGA Tour finish, is among three players at 11 under.

Overton didn’t come close to matching the 62 he shot Friday, his best round of the year.

He started the day with a four-shot lead over Weekley but bogeyed Nos. 2 and 5. By then, Points had taken over with a stretch of nine birdies over 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 who joined the PGA Tour in 2006, is having his best season with four top-five finishes. He’s 12th in FedEx Cup points and could jump to No. 2 with a victory.

Points, also seeking his first win after joining the Tour a year ago, admits thinking about a 59 after holing an 11-foot putt at No. 16. But those thoughts were short lived.

His second shot on No. 17 found a greenside bunker, where he had an awkward stance and blasted out to 28 feet. His birdie attempt was well short and his 4-footer for par slid past.

Points still had a chance to become the fifth player to shoot 59 on Tour with a hole-in-one at the 148-yard 18th, a rare par-3 finishing hole. His tee shot safely found the middle of the green and he made par.

Holmes, who had 11 birdies and a bogey, went driver-9 iron on No. 17 but watched an 11-foot eagle putt slide to the left. He birdied the par-3 18th for his 60.

Because 85 players qualified for Saturday’s play, there will be a 54-hole cut to the low 70 and ties, a policy the PGA Tour implemented two years ago to avoid two-tee starts and long weekend rounds.