Sharpe, Fuqua and Jimmy Brown of Paducah played in the final group, as Sharpe and Fuqua were tied for the lead at four under and Brown was in third at one under after two rounds.
Fuqua closed with a 2-over-par 74, even though he played the last 14 holes in three under.
That's how rough his start was.
After four holes, he was five-over-par for the day, dropping him to one over for the tournament and four strokes behind Sharpe.
Fuqua went for the 525-yard, par-5 opening hole in two, clearing the pond in front of the green but landing in the high grass just short of the putting surface. The one-stroke penalty for hitting into the hazard led to a bogey.
On the 182-yard, par-3 second hole, he hit his tee shot into the pond fronting the green and carded a double bogey.
"I thinned a 4-iron just a little bit on the first hole and was about a yard from being all right," Fuqua said. "I made a bad swing on the second."
Bogeys followed on Nos. 3 and 4, both par-4s, and Fuqua quickly found himself four strokes behind Sharpe.
Starting the comeback
That's when he started his comeback.
After a drive in the fairway and a hybrid to the right edge of the green, he holed a 50-foot eagle putt on the par-5 fifth hole. He only picked up one shot on Sharpe, who made a 15-foot birdie putt, but he gained some momentum.
"That was huge for me," he said.
Three straight pars and a short birdie putt on the par-4 ninth hole got him back to 2-under-par for the tournament and just two strokes behind Sharpe and one behind Cochran, who shot 33 on the front nine.
Fuqua had a chance to cut the lead to one stroke on the par-5, 11th hole, but missed a birdie putt from about 10 feet.
His tee shot on the 192-yard, downhill par-3 12th hole finished on a slope behind the green, and he bogeyed.
Two holes later, he went for a pin tucked just behind a bunker on the par-3 14th hole, and hit his best shot of the day - an 8-iron from 182 (a little bit downhill) yards to within about 5 feet.
His miss left him three strokes back with four to play.
"That one hurt," he said.
Again, though, he came back, hitting his second shot on the short par-4 15th to about 5 feet and making the birdie putt.
Trailing by two, he lost another stroke to Sharpe on the 411-yard, par-4 16th hole, flying his approach shot from the right rough into right bunker, leading to a bogey.
Now three behind with just two holes left, Fuqua nearly holed his wedge shot on the par-4 17th, as it landed next to the cup, bounced forward, then spun back - just missing the hole. He sank the four-foot birdie putt.
Needing eagle on the par-5 closing hole, since Cochran already was in the clubhouse at 4-under, Fuqua knocked his second shot over the green and into a bunker. His sand shot landed near the hole, but near did him no good.
"I'm proud of the way I hung in there today," Fuqua said. "It was fun to play with the heat on. I'm building confidence in myself and my golf game."
