Go low -- really low -- and you could go home happy Sunday

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J.B. Holmes had the round of the day Saturday but still trails by six shots.

WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, W. Va. -- No one has to tell Stuart Appleby about all the low scores being shot on the PGA TOUR of late.

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He was playing with Steve Stricker when the world No. 4 shot a first-round 60 on the way to victory at the John Deere Classic. That also happened to be the day that Paul Goydos posted the fourth 59 in PGA TOUR history.

And on Saturday during the third round of The Greenbrier Classic, Appleby was paired with D.A. Points -- who entertained thoughts of 58 until he made bogey on the par-5 17th and had to "settle" for a 61. Not to mention, before the two had even teed off, J.B. Holmes posted a 60 on the gentile and generous Old White Course.

"(The course) is receptive so you're gonna have to shoot something in the mid 60s or better," said Appleby, who posted a 65 of his own. "... It's not difficult enough out there to stall. If you're not under par, you're not even close to playing any good.

"Tomorrow, see what happens. Gonna be good shooting out there. I think you'll see a lot of guys going reasonably deep, and that'll be competitive enough to shake it at the top."

The man at the top, though, has been pretty unflappable this week. Jeff Overton, who is looking for his first PGA TOUR victory, led by four when he teed off on Saturday and three when he finished.

In between, Overton overcame a slow start that saw him bogey two of his first five holes and lose the lead to Points. But he hung tough and made six birdies over his final 11 holes, shooting 31 on the back nine, to move to 18 under.

Not that anyone should be surprised. The 27-year-old has two runner-up finishes and a pair of thirds in his last nine starts. But Overton's gutsy comeback on Saturday was nearly lost in the offensive fireworks that preceded him.

The Old White Course played to an average of 66.965 -- which was 3.035 under its par of 70 -- on this cool, overcast and occasionally damp Saturday. Even so, it wasn't the best scoring on TOUR this year -- the first two rounds of the SBS Championship clocked in at averages of 3.143 and 3.821 under, respectively.

Individually, though, the numbers are particularly impressive.

Holmes' 60 was the fourth round of 60 or better in the last five tournaments. Had Points turned that bogey at the 17th -- the easiest hole on the golf course -- into a birdie, he could have made it the fifth. Shoot, the unimaginable 58 was even on the table.

And Points, to his credit, wasn't going to let the opportunity pass. Although he would later admit he wished he hadn't known he was 10 under entering the final two holes, the increasingly animated Points decided to go for it.

"My caddie and I had talked about hitting 3 wood earlier in the week if it was downwind," Points said. "I thought, Shoot, I've been driving it well. If I'm gonna shoot 58 or 9 or whatever I could shoot today, I sure as heck better do it trying to hit driver and trying to make eagle, and not by laying up and trying to do all sorts of nonsense like that."

So Points hit driver just into the rough on the right side of the fairway and a hybrid into the front bunker. With one foot in the sand and the other out, he blasted to 33 feet, then missed the putt and lipped out the 4-footer for par. Although he was disappointed, Points wouldn't beat himself up over the chance he missed.

"It's one of those things that I think we all have opportunity for stuff like this," Points said. "Like J.B., you know, had an opportunity. There's been a couple guys, and there's gonna be somebody tomorrow that will probably have an opportunity.

"I hope it's me again, but it's gonna happen. That's what makes golf so much fun and what makes this exciting."

Appleby wasn't surprised to see Points -- who he said was putting on a "bit of a clinic" -- seize the opportunity. And he expects more of the same in Sunday's final round.

"You just got to ... enjoy rounds like that," Appleby said. "The game is easy. The line comes at you, the club comes at you, you feel good, and you spend the rest of your career trying to create something like that.

"I don't think he'll be disappointed. He'll be encouraged by what he's done today to finish the year off."

Overton said he wasn't aware of how low Points was going until he saw a scoreboard at the eighth hole. If anything, though, the wake-up call may have helped as Overton rolled in a 21-footer for birdie and never looked back.

"I was like, Jeez, what are you doing here, Jeff?'" Overton remembered. "Start off playing so crappy, and then here he is three shots up. I'm like, all right, we got to get something going here and kind of buckled in and made some putts."

Although there are 17 players in double figures after three rounds, Overton is definitely in the driver's seat at 18 under. He has only shot higher than 73 once in his last 32 rounds, and he has 18 rounds in the 60s during that stretch, including three this week.

One more low round, and Overton just might have his first PGA TOUR victory.

"You got to play well," the fifth-year pro said. "Somebody that's 12 under right now, I don't know how many guys there are, but I'm sure one of those guys are gonna shoot 65 or better as least.

"... There's gonna be some good scores tomorrow, and it's gonna take a good score to win."