Overton finishes 51st in BMW Championship

CARMEL, Ind. ­— Throughout the BMW Championship, it was clear Jeff Overton had ties to the Hoosier State. He walked the course to the chant of, “Hoo, Hoo, Hoosiers” from the gallery.

Some might call this a homecoming of sorts for Overton, a 2005 IU graduate. Despite finishing tied for 51st this weekend in the BMW Championship at Crooked Stick Golf Club, he said he was happy with the event.

“It was a great event,” Overton said. “There were a lot of great crowds. Indianapolis has a lot to be proud of.”

Through his first two rounds of play, Overton recorded five birdies and five bogeys. He shot a double bogey on No. 8 in the first round.

“It was a little bit of a fight the first couple rounds,” Overton said. “I did not hit it as good as I would like to. I didn’t do anything good.”

In comparison, Vijay Singh, the leader after two rounds, had 13 birdies and an eagle in the first two rounds. The low scores by most of the field were due to the course conditions, Overton said.

“The course is still so soft, and the greens are in perfect shape,” Overton said. “Anytime you get a course in this good of shape there are going to be low scores.”

The greens may have been in perfect condition, but Overton said he blamed some of his struggles in the early rounds on his putting. In rounds one and two combined he carded 62 putts.

His putting improved in round three. He had 25 putts, down from 30 in round one and 32 in round two.

In the third round, Overton scored six birdies and one bogey for a five-under-par score. Birdies on his final four holes of the day got him to a 67, tied for fourth best score of the day.

“It was nice to shoot something under par here,” Overton said.

Overton said he knew putting was the key for a low final round score. But, as was the case in the first two rounds, he said his putter failed him.

“If I make all my putts inside seven feet, we shoot five or six under,” he said.

Despite his putting woes, he went into No. 16 two-under-par for the day and five-under for the tournament.

A bogey on hole 16 followed by a double bogey on 17 dropped Overton to one-over-par for the day and two-under for the tournament.

“The last three holes were probably the toughest three finishing holes we’ve played all year,” he said. “Seventeen was just a ridiculous set-up, playing 230 with a 20 mph wind, and you have about eight paces to hit it on there.”

His tee shot landed to the left of the green. He was unable to get the ball out of the rough.

Because of the wet weather conditions, the golfers were able to use the “lift and clean” rule. The rule allows players to lift their ball from the fairway and clean it, then place it in the same spot.

Overton said he is not a fan of the rule.

“If you think about it, lift, clean and place is basically lift, clean and cheat,” he said. “Crooked Stick held up to the test though. Unfortunately, it was too wet, so they couldn’t get the place firm and fast and make it more difficult.”

His two-under-par score was not low enough for Overton to earn enough points to be in the TOUR Championship in two weeks.

“I am ready for a nice little break before maybe playing in a few events this fall,” he said. “I’m going to take a few weeks off and maybe catch a football game.”