Stuart Appleby recorded only the fifth round of 59 in PGA Tour history to win the Greenbriers Classic by a single stroke at White Sulphur Springs.
The Australian made nine birdies and an eagle at the par-five 12th hole as he surged from seven shots off Jeff Overton’s overnight lead to seal an astonishing triumph.
Overton three-putted the par-five 17th after reaching the green in two and was then only narrowly off target with a 54-foot putt at the last to come up one stroke short.
Overton has now finished second three times this season, adding two third-placed finishes in a string of near misses.
But all the focus was on Appleby after he joined only Al Geiberger, Chip Beck, David Duval and Paul Goydos in breaking 60 during a round on the tour.
A birdie at the second started his run, but it was a run of four in succession - and five in six holes - from the fourth which raised hopes that something special was in the offing.
That saw him out in 28, and that eagle at 12 brought him into contention for top spot.
He capitalised by closing with three birdies in a row, holing an 11-foot left-to-right putt on the final green to secure a 22-under-par total and his place in history.
It was the second time the feat had been achieved in just over three weeks following Goydos’ exploits in the first round of the John Deere Classic, and came after DA Points and JB Holmes threatened the mark yesterday.
Appleby said: “I watched Paul Goydos at the John Deere and he holed everything, DA Points holed everything yesterday and it’s nice to be on the receiving end of that.
“I felt comfortable, I liked my reads and I liked how the ball rolled.
“Players have been shooting pretty low, I did most of mine in one round today.
“I haven’t liked my putting for a while but I wouldn’t say it came out of the blue. It’s nice to get on that horse, you’ve got to ride that feeling for as long as you can.”
And he revealed his good luck charm to the television cameras - a pictorial representation of his name printed on his ball.
“I’ve got a little ‘apple, bee’ on my ball - I’ve won with those balls before, it’s my little good luck thing and it worked today,” he said.
Overton, at 21 under, was four shots clear of his nearest pursuer Brendon de Jonge, who carded his third 65 of the week to finish 17 under.
Points, who bogeyed the 17th yesterday to end up with a 61, could only manage 70 today and was in a large group at 15 under alongside fellow Americans Woody Austin, Paul Stankowski, Roger Tambellini and Jimmy Walker.
Jim Furyk, who went into the event with hopes of moving to the top of the FedEx Cup standings with a top-two finish, ended up in a share of ninth on 14 under.
Holmes shot his third 69 of the week to leave yesterday’s 60 standing in isolation and finish 13 under, tied for 16th.
Richard S Johnson of Sweden was the top European challenger, tied for 21st on 12 under after a 66.
