George's Prediction Comes True; Faxon and Others Love Old White

During my interview with Lester George last week, he predicted a 59 would be shot at the Greenbrier's Old White course during the Greenbrier Classic and he was right. The par-70 C.B. Macdonald-Seth Raynor design was no match for the length of the PGA Tour pros and the soft conditions, even from over 7,000 yards.

Australian Stuart Appleby did it in the final round Sunday on his way to winning by a stroke. He became the fifth player in Tour history to shoot 59.

Brad Faxon emailed me from the tournament.

"Course is unreal. Players love it but don't get it either!" he wrote.

Why should they get it? How many of the Tour pros have been exposed to great golf courses or been shown why bunker right, bunker left, in the fairway and bunker left, bunker right on a green that tilts back to front isn't great design?

Here are the others players who shot 59 at a Tour event.

• Al Geiberger: 1977 Memphis Classic (29-30), Colonial Country Club (par 72)

• Chip Beck: 1991 Las Vegas Invitational (30-29), Sunrise Golf Club (par 72)

• David Duval: 1999 Bob Hope Chrysler Classic (31-28), PGA West (Palmer Course) (par 72)

• Paul Goydos: 2010 John Deere Classic (31-28), TPC Deere Run (par 71)

This was the first time it's been done on a par-70 golf course.

"Look, I'll debate it with you. I agree," Appleby said. "I can see both sides of the fence. It is a number. I shot that number. But who says par is supposed to be 72? There's a lot of great courses that aren't 72."

For the big gallery around the 18th green, the par of the golf course did not matter as they exploded into cheers when Appleby's put for birdie dropped.