Piercy finds himself, success on Nationwide Tour

text size

When you're hot, you're hot.

Scott Piercy can say a hearty amen to that statement several times over. A mere afterthought on the money list three weeks ago, Piercy just took care of a Nationwide Tour player's primary business with a head spinning rush. And now the rookie is headed to the PGA TOUR thanks to a three-event wow-factor streak where he finished one, tied for sixth, one to get it done.

Cohen/Getty Images

Scott Piercy has two Nationwide Tour wins in his past three events.

"Not too bad, uh?'' Piercy said facetiously Sunday evening after scoring his second victory of 2008, a two-shot triumph over Brendon de Jonge and Cameron Percy in the Northeast Pennsylvania Classic.

No, not too bad at all. Only one player, Jason Gore, who won in three consecutive starts midway through the 2005 season, bettered Piercy's meteoric rise from 123rd to 35th to 31st to 12th on the money list in such a teeny time span.

So, how did it happen? How did a rookie, whose best finish in nine previous starts prior to his first victory in the Preferred Health Systems Wichita Open was a pedestrian tie for 19th back in May, suddenly find his game and turn into a world beater who lapped the field in Wichita and rallied from six strokes down in the final round in Pennsylvania?

Piercy, 29, took a long time to consider the queries. Then he sheepishly said, "Kinda fairy tailish.''

O.K., now that it that has been established that fairy tales can come true, you should know Piercy, a Las Vegas native, could qualify as one of the Brothers Grimm. Although his results leading up to his three- week tornado didn't necessarily indicate it was coming, Piercy could feel his game elevating to a higher level.

"This has been in the making for a while,'' said Piercy, who is a scorching 42-under-par over the course of his last 216 holes and, with other '08 two-timers Jarrod Lyle and Colt Knost, is one victory away from earning a performance promotion to The Big Show.

Piercy had no trouble making birdies in bunches. His problem was, too often he matched his birdie total with a slew of bogeys. Somewhere along the way, though, he began learning subtle little lessons about himself and his game that would lead to bogey eradication and his stunning success.

"I discovered what makes me tick on the golf course,'' he said. "I learned to control myself better, to be patient.''

Piercy put that lesson to good use Sunday. He turned the front nine even, something that normally would have set him off like a Roman candle.

"I would have gotten mad with that (front nine) result in the past,'' he said. "But I really think I've matured as a person and a player.''

That helped Piercy go off -- on the back nine, where he made an eagle and four birdies to pass all the players in front of him who basically were spinning their wheels as they applied to par. The transformation was never more apparent than on the greens at Elmhurst Country Club. They perplexed Piercy to the point where he rang up seven frustrating three putts through the first 63 holes. But save for a two-foot tap in on the 12th hole, Piercy was rolling them in from all the Keystone State as he barged into the winner's circle.

"The hole just opened up for me,'' he said.

That's how you shoot 29 coming home, like Piercy did. And that's how you blow past a brace of players on the back nine and win, like Piercy did.

There is one other thing Piercy has been doing with great regularity in his stretch of brilliance. That's hitting greens in regulation. He hit 79.2 percent last week to finish second in the field.

"Greens in regulation are my key,'' he said. "They'll have a hard time beating me when I do that consistently. I think I've proved that the last few weeks.''

Piercy turned professional in 2001 and played seven seasons on the mini-tour circuit before finally getting over the PGA TOUR Qualifying Tournament hump in December. He was conditional until May, so naturally he has crammed as many events as possible on his schedule. Sunday's round completed 10 consecutive weeks of competition. So this week's break in the schedule couldn't come at a better time.

"I'm really tired, but so excited,'' said Piercy, whose main claim to fame prior to the last three weeks was his victory in The Ultimate Game, a made-for-television event that came with the biggest first-place check -- $2 million -- ever awarded. "I'll be doing a lot of relaxing next week. And it will be great to see the kids.''

Piercy also will be performing some honey-dos since he and his wife Sara recently purchased a new home in Las Vegas.

"We'll be ordering appliances, stuff for the front yard and stuff for the back yard,'' he said.

He might as well find a nice spot in a prominent place for two trophies while he's at it. But there's one thing he won't be doing.

"I think I'll leave the golf clubs alone for a while,'' he said.

Piercy has earned the downtime.