Bluefield Daily Telegraph, Bluefield, WV

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  • Leaving the beach... Jeff Overton tries to escape the sand on the 17th hole on Friday at the Greenbrier Classic. Overton shot a 62, and lead by four strokes. Contributed photo by R. Brian Ferguson / Beckley Register-Herald

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July 31, 2010

Birdie fest

Overton fires 62 to take Greenbrier Classic lead

By JED LOCKETT Bluefield Daily Telegraph

WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS — Friday afternoon was another bright and hot yet breezy day at The Greenbrier. It was on this occasion that a native of Indiana took a huge step towards his first PGA Tour title.

Jeff Overton birdied six of his first 10 holes and shot an 8-under 62 to grab a four-stroke lead following the second round of The Greenbrier Classic at The Old White Course.

Overton leads Boo Weekley, who fired a 63 to move to 10-under for the event. Jimmy Walker and Erik Compton are tied for third at 9-under.

“It’s not like yesterday,” Overton said. “I hit a lot of fairways and I was hitting my driver well and it left me with a lot of shots inside 100 yards and that enabled me to hit a lot of lay-up shots really close.”

Overton, who teed off his round on No. 10, fired a 5-under 31 on the back nine. He strung together four birdies in a row on 16, 17, 18 and 1.

“Sixteen, I hit driver,” Overton said. “The wind kind-of switched. It was kind-of bumpy out there and I hit driver and barely carried the water by about six or seven yards. I had 158 yards to the hole and hit a little chip gap wedge in there and almost made it. Had about three feet.

“And then the next hole I knew I needed to keep my driver to the right of that bunker line up on the _ actually over the water and try to draw it back. The wind kind-of caught it, then wound up barely in the rough. Thought I had a flyer, tried a 5-iron in there and it didn’t jump. Came up short in the bunker. Hit a bunker shot to about five feet and put a really good stroke on it.

“Then No. 18, you know, it was straight downwind, 152 yards I think, or something like that. I just felt real comfortable in hitting a nice, full pitching wedge. I knew if I hit it real well, it would probably get all the way back there. Hit it perfect.

“Then No. 1, I hit a drive down the middle, hit a flip little wedge to like three feet and tapped that in, too.”

While Overton was the star of the afternoon, the morning’s honors went to Weekley. The Milton, Fla., native made birdies on four of his first eight holes to shoot up the leader board and take the lead following the morning’s rounds.

His birdie string began when he sunk an eight- or nine-foot putt on No. 11 and followed with a solid par on No. 12. Then he went to No. 13.

“I hit it somewhere up there,” Weekley said. “I made birdie there. And then the par 3 (No. 15), I stepped on a pretty good 4 iron, got a good bounce and it landed just on the edge of the green, the bunker there, shot towards the hole and the way the green runs it kind-of curls back to the right and it rolled up there two or three feet behind the hole.

“On the par-5 No. 17, I hit driver-5 wood and had a good look at it. I thought I made that putt too for eagle and tapped it in for birdie.”

Weekley went on to add birdies on No. 2, No. 7 and No. 9 to close the round and put himself in Saturday’s final pairing.

First round co-leader Compton began his afternoon with a large following that saw him make birdies on No. 10 and No. 12 to move to 9-under immediately. But then he stumbled, making bogey on No. 13.

His tee shot on No. 14 found the fairway sand and he was forced to scramble for par. Compton also had to save par on No. 16 and No. 17 and missed a birdie try on No. 18.

He put up another red number with a birdie on No. 3. But it was his last of the afternoon.

“I had 17 putts and shot 1-under,” Compton said. “I hit 15 greens. I don’t know anybody else who is going to be hitting 18 greens, so everybody has to get up-and-down. You’ve just got to suck it up and keep the momentum going.”

Walker made four birdies on the front nine and added birdies on No. 10, No. 11 and No. 14 to challenge for the low round of the tournament. But a bogey on No. 15 and another on No. 18 after a birdie on No. 17 meant he had to settle for a 64.

“I think the wind whipping through this valley and through the trees make it really hard,” Walker said. “Sometimes it’s really hard to figure out which way the wind is going. 18 has gotten me three days in a row. Hopefully tomorrow it won’t.”

The other co-leader after the first round, Matt Every, lost ample ground to the leaders, shooting a 2-over 72 to fall to 5-under for the tournament. Every dropped shots on No. 5 and No. 8. Even though he birdied No. 9 and No. 12 to get them back, he double bogeyed No. 17 to give them away again.

Among those who made the cut are Jim Furyk (7-under), Davis Love III (6-under), Stuart Appleby (6-under), Sergio Garcia (5-under), Ben Curtis (5-under), Chris DiMarco (4-under), John Daly (3-under), Rocco Mediate (2-under) and Lewisburg amateur Jonathan Bartlett (2-under).

A total of 85 players made the cut, which was at 2-under par. Many notables missed the cut, including Paul Goydos, Trevor Immelman, David Toms, former Virginia Tech star Drew Weaver, Billy Mayfair, Brad Faxon, Lee Janzen, Kenny Perry and Jeff Maggert.

Overton did much more than make the cut. But he knows he must do much, much more to leave White Sulphur Springs with his first PGA Tour championship.

“You know, I would love to win a golf tournament, especially out here,” Overton said. “It’s been a while. You know, you just never know when it’s your time. You just got to continue to play every shot, take it for what it’s worth, and live in the moment.”

_ —Contact Jed Lockett

at jlockett@bdtonline.com

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