WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS — Stuart Appleby stood over his putt and knew exactly what was at stake.

Potentially his first win in four years, when he won the Shell Houston Open.

A $1,080,000 payoff.

He could earn exempt status through the 2012 season, a spot in next week’s World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational and a spot in the 2011 SBS Championship (an event he won three straight years, 2004-06).

And a bit of history, as he stood just under 10 feet from achieving only the fifth 59 ever on the PGA TOUR, not to mention breaking Sam Snead’s Old White Course-record 60 set Oct. 18, 1950.

Pressure?

What pressure?

The Australian measured his putt and then dialed it up, straight into the hole, to win the inaugural Greenbrier Classic on Sunday.

“I knew what it was all about, I knew I had to make it,” Appleby said. “I knew I had to make it for the tournament. I knew I had to make it for a 59. I’m sitting there thinking, ‘How many opportunities are you gonna get to do this?’

“But I still felt very relaxed. The cards had been laying out perfectly for me all day. Why wasn’t it going to do one more? I just got a good look at it. Just bang, and it felt good, like it knew where its home was, and right in the middle.”

Appleby finished with nine birdies and an eagle (on No. 12) in his history-making round.

It was the second 59 on the PGA TOUR this year and the first on a par-70 layout.

Jeff Overton was the hard-luck loser. He held a three-shot lead entering the day and Appleby was seven shots behind.

Appleby’s charge started early when he made five birdies on the front side, and he used just 10 putts in doing it.

He finally caught — actually, passed, if even for a moment — Overton when he eagled No. 12. Overton drew even less than five minutes later when he birdied 10.

From there, the race was on to No. 18.

Appleby held it together and finished strong, with three straight birdies.

Ironically, he had played Saturday with D.A. Points, who had flirted with a 59 before settling for a 61.

“It was certainly the best visualization you can see when a guy is just draining putts,” Appleby said. “I was getting sucked around along a little bit with his play. I was making some birdies. And that, today, came out for me. We spend so much time trying to have rounds like today. Forget whether it’s 50-something, you’re just trying to have rounds where you’re scaring the hole. And when you do and they drop, it’s a pleasant feeling. You just never seem to get enough of them.”

Overton, meanwhile, had trouble pulling it together down the stretch,

He missed a three-foot putt for a chance to tie on 17. His reaction said it all.

He stood over the hole, bent down and eyed the cup in complete disbelief.

“I thought I put a great stroke on it,” Overton said. “I thought I put it right in the center. Like a foot-and-a-half from the hole it just went hard left. There was definitely a spike mark there. I don’t want to make excuses, I missed the putt.”

Appleby, meanwhile, went to the driving range to stay loose in case there was a playoff. It wasn’t needed.

Overton left his drive on the par-3 18th way short. He gave it a run, putting it up the undulation and just passed the cup.

“I really hit it, I mean, it was all over the flag,” Overton said. “I just hit it a groove low. And the putt, it looked like it was in all the way. As soon as it came off the putter, I just about jumped out of my pants and it rolled over the edge.”

“Is it official?” Appleby asked when informed on the range that he had indeed won the tournament. “Shew. Now I an wipe my brow.”

Appleby just spent his 11th straight week playing a tournament and plans on playing the next two.

“Well, (the win) really changed my season,” Appleby said. “I’ve never done stints like this. I really want to be back to being the player I was, I am and I feel like I’ve always been. Now that my FedEx points are up higher (he is now in the Top 25) I can look to when I can book flights to Australia to have a rest. Because when you have uncertainty in this game, it’s hard to plan things.”

Brendon de Jonge, a Virginia Tech graduate, finished third, four shots back at 17-under.

“We figured at the beginning of the week just make a lot of birdies,” de Jonge said. “And that is exactly what happened.”

Five players finished tied for fourth: Woody Austin, Paul Stankowski, Roger Tambelini, Jimmy Walker and Points.

Walker was Appleby’s partner Sunday.

“Yeah, he putted unbelievable,” Walker said. “He made everything today. He hit some great shots and made all his putts. There you go, 59.”

Appleby now has nine PGA TOUR wins and he moved from No. 82 to No. 24 in the FedExCup standings.

— E-mail: demorrison@register-herald.com