Johnson Wagner and Pat Perez made some unsuspecting customers at a Scottsdale, Ariz., PGA TOUR Superstore very happy Friday evening.

After their second rounds at the Waste Management Phoenix Open, the two TaylorMade staff players showed up at the golf store with a suitcase full of $10,000, ready to hand out to anyone who tested the new TaylorMade RocketBallz 3-wood.

Customers were paid $10 per yard, up to $100, for every yard gained with the RocketBallz compared to their current fairway wood. TaylorMade claims the RocketBallz 3-wood, which went on sale this week, can provide up to 17 extra yards.

LA JOLLA, Calif. -- Two players who have history at Torrey Pines are gaining ground on Kyle Stanley.

Pat Perez, who did odd jobs for free golf here as a teenager, has birdied three of his first seven holes to move to 11 under. Perez, whose father is the announcer at the first tee on the South Course during the tournament, made a 4-footer at No. 1, a 6-footer at the third and has just rolled in a 14-footer at the seventh hole.

Perez is tied with Bill Haas, who just tapped in from 2 feet at No. 5 for his first birdie of the day. Haas held a share of the 54-hole lead last year at Torrey Pines but bogeyed two of the first four holes on Sunday on the way to a 75 that left him in a tie for ninth.

Haas also has family ties to the tournament. His dad Jay picked up his breakthrough win on the PGA TOUR at the Andy Williams-San Diego Open Invitational in 1978.

Should Bill win at Torrey Pines on Sunday it would mark the second time he's won the same tournament as his father. Bill's breakthrough victory came at the 2010 Bob Hope Classic, an event Jay won in 1988.

By Helen Ross, PGATOUR.COM

LA JOLLA, Calif. -- Pat Perez spent the better part of his teenage years either playing at Torrey Pines or doing odd jobs and picking up balls on the range.

The extra pocket money was great. "But it was the fact that I had free cart and free golf, all the balls I could hit -- and I hit probably all of them," Perez recalled.

It was a family affair, too. Perez's father Tony was a starter at Torrey Pines, and he’s been announcing the players on the first tee of the South Course during the Farmers Insurance Open for about 20 years.

Looks like he could have a lot of good things to say when his son steps to the tee there on Friday. Perez is currently 5 under through 17 holes on the North Course and in a tie for ninth, four strokes off the lead.

When the U.S. Open was played at Torrey Pines in 2008, Perez reminisced about playing the municipal course as a youngster.
 
"We had some help in the starter's booth, but we still had to get a number," Perez said. "We'd get here about 1, 2 in the morning and you've got to get a number from the guy. So if you were early you had to wait until someone else showed up and then you got your number and then you could go to sleep and set your alarm for 5:30.

"And then everyone would go in the coffee shop, get a drink or get something to drink.And then everyone would form a line across the top balcony up there. And it was one after another went off, and tee off at 6:30 and that was the kind of day. And then I'd go to work after that.

"I loved it. As a kid, you're getting out of the house, you got more freedom. I loved it. I wouldn't do it now, but it was fun at the time."

By Mike McAllister, PGATOUR.COM

HONOLULU -- Count Pat Perez as one of the converts to the belly putter.

During a trip to Cabo San Lucas six weeks ago, Perez tried one during a round and, in his words, "putted unbelievable."

Three days later when he returned home, he had a belly putter waiting for him. Since then?

"I haven't taken it out of my hands since," Perez said.

He's feeling even better about the switch after two solid putting rounds at the Sony Open in Hawaii. Perez shot a second-round 3-under 67 to go with his opening 66, putting him at 7 under and firmly among the contenders going into the weekend at Waialae.

Perez has been battling a bulging disc in his back that seems to be flaring up since he started getting back to work and walking more.

"It's just tight," Perez said. "I can't get it to loosen up. Between the flight and the new bed and all that stuff, I guess -- hopefully it disappears. But it probably won't because the disc is bulged."

NORTON, Mass. – The wind is already fairly brisk at TPC Boston on Monday and by the time the leaders get on the golf course at 1:45 p.m. the gusts  could clock in at 20 mph.

Maybe that’s why no one is going really low early like Phil Mickelson did as he posted a 63 on Sunday. Of the 52 players who have played at least at hole right now, 24 are currently over par.

Pat Perez and Jimmy Walker have the day’s low rounds so far, shooting 67s. Walker, who came into the week ranked 48th in the FedExCup, is 4 under for the tournament and projected at No. 51.

But Perez is 1 over for the tournament and could have just made his final Playoffs appearance. He came into the week ranked 63rd and has dropped to 76th in the projections. Only the top 70 advance to next week’s BMW Championship.

On the opposite end of the ledger, Hunter Mahan is doing his best Charley Hoffman impression. Like Hoffman did in shooting a final-round 62 a year ago, Mahan has gotten off to a good start – making birdie on his first three holes to move to 8 under for the tournament and three strokes off the lead held by Bubba Watson.

Marc Leishman, who came into the week holding down the bubble spot at No. 70, is also 3 under for the day through seven holes. He’s currently projected at No. 57.

The afternoon should remain warm, with temperatures in the mid-80s, and dry although a cold front is slowly pushing through New York and western Massachusetts. Rain could enter the picture in the evening.

EDISON, N.J. – Steve Flesch has become the fourth player to withdraw from The Barclays, stopping after nine holes of his second round while suffering from a sinus headache.

Flesch came into the week ranked 121st and will not earn any FedExCup points. So he will miss next week’s Deutsche Bank Championship and the rest of the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup.

Stuart Appleby and Chris Couch withdrew prior to the start of their second rounds, citing back injuries. Pat Perez withdrew on Thursday after his first round.

EDISON, N.J. – Stuart Appleby and Chris Couch have withdrawn from The Barclays prior to the start of their second rounds.

Appleby, who opened with an 81, and Couch, who shot 77 in the first round, both cited back injuries. They are the second and third players to withdraw this week – Pat Perez left Thursday after opening with a 79.

If he’s healthy, Couch should still be eligible for the Deutsche Bank Championship, which begins Friday. He came to The Barclays ranked No. 78 in the FedExCup and was projected at No. 89 when he withdrew. The top 100 in the standings will play at TPC Boston.

Appleby started the week at No. 113 in the FedExCup standings and didn’t earn any points at The Barclays. The Aussie will now have a five-week break from competition to heal.

EDISON, N.J. – Pat Perez has withdrawn from The Barclays after opening with a 79. He did not give a reason for his early exit.

Perez will not accrue any FedExCup points this week, as a result. But he started the Playoffs ranked No. 52 so he should be safe for next week’s Deutsche Bank Championship which features the top 100 in the standings.

Perez’s round included a penalty-induced five-putt at the 17th hole. He was assessed one-stroke after his 13-footer for par horseshoed out of the hole and hit him in the foot.

By Zak Kozuchowski, PGATOUR.COM Scott Piercy had vacation plans for next week, but he’ll be cancelling them. Piercy won for the first time on the PGA TOUR at the Reno-Tahoe Open, which qualifies him for the PGA Championship next week at Atlanta Athletic Club. The win also earns him 250 FedExCup points, moving the 32-year-old from 137th to 80th in the standings and virtually guaranteeing him a spot in the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup which start Aug. 25. Piercy took a one-shot lead into the 72nd hole at Montreux. He needed only par to win after Pat Perez, who was playing in the group in front of Piercy, failed to get up and down for birdie from a greenside bunker. Piercy hit his drive on a cart path right of the fairway on the 616-yard par 5, but chose not to take relief. Doing so would have forced him to drop in the thick rough right of the path. So Piercy hit his second shot off the asphalt, punching his ball in the fairway 148 yards from the pin. The two-time Nationwide Tour winner then hit a wedge to just inside 30 feet, but rolled his birdie putt well outside his comfort zone, seven feet past the hole. He avoided a playoff by made the comeback putt, however, earning his spot in next week's event and a two-year PGA TOUR exemption.

Leader Scott Piercy tried to drive the reachable par-4 14th at Monteux, potentially setting up an eagle in the final round of the Reno-Tahoe Open. Instead, he pulled hooked his three wood on the 332-yard hole and made a bogey, dropping him into a tie with Pat Perez, who is on the course at 15 under. Steve Flesch, 13 under, is currently in a tie for third place. If he were to remain in that position, he would move inside the top 125 in the FedExCup to No. 119. Josh Teater, 13 under, and Billy Mayfair, 9 under, are also projected to jump into the top 125 in the FedExCup standings.