By Brian Wacker, PGATOUR.COM

PALM HARBOR, Fla. -- No matter where Scott Piercy was on the green Sunday, the ball was going in the hole.

“When you start making putts … it almost was like I didn’t really care today,” Piercy said after a 9-under 62 to briefly to the top of the leaderboard after the leaders had barely teed off early Sunday at the Transitions Championship.

Piercy, who began the da in a tie for 45th eight shots back, charged in contention with a 29 on the front nine before adding two more birdies on the back.

“He had one of those rounds we all try to have,” said Kris Blanks, who played alongside Piercy on Sunday.

if there was one hole that spurred Piercy, it was the par-3 fourth.

After an indifferent tee shot on the 195-yard hole, Piercy jarred a 42-footer for birdie.

“Any time you start hooping it … You see that going in and it’s like, oh, there’s a little momentum,” said Piercy, who birdied five of his first six holes and closed out the front nine with two more birdies. “It kind of snowballs and it just keeps going.”

At one point, he couldn’t help but start thinking about golf’s magic number: 59.

”You'd be lying if you said no,” Piercy said. “When we made the turn, my caddie looked at me and said, ‘Five more.’ Which in a way is thinking 59, but in a way, if I get five more, I get to 15 [under] and I think that probably wins.”

This was the second time in less than a year that Piercy has gone low. In the third round of last year’s Reno-Tahoe Open, Piercy made eight straight birdies on his way to a 28 on the front nine.

He finished with a 61 and the next day won the tournament.

Though Piercy had just two birdies on the back nine, he played Nos. 16 through 18 -- collectively known as the Snake Pit -- in a combined 4 under for the week.

“Last week, I gave myself a lot of thought as to how to play this golf course,” said Piercy, who had an 11-shot swing from his third round. “I figured out how to play the golf course more rather than just look at it and hit shots.”

By Brian Wacker, PGATOUR.COM

PALM HARBOR, Fla. -- Retief Goosen and Jim Furyk still lead -- for now -- but Scott Piercy is closing the gap pretty quickly.

Piercy just made the turn in 29, making seven birdies, including five over his last six holes, to get to 10 under overall and within one of the lead.

Through his first nine holes, Piercy missed only two greens and has already made more than 100 feet worth of putts, which is more than in any of his first three full rounds.

Piercy’s lowest round of the year, by the way, was a 65 in the third round of the Sony Open in Hawaii. His best finish this season was a tie for 12th in the season-opening Hyundai Tournament of Champions.

Three players who won PGA TOUR events in 2011 are among the names ranked No. 81-90 that were unveiled Friday on PGATOUR.COM’s Top 100 Players to Watch in 2012.

Scott Piercy (Reno-Tahoe Open), Chris Kirk (Viking Classic) and Harrison Frazar (FedEx St. Jude Classic) each won for the first time on TOUR in 2011.

Below is a link to each of the 10 players who were revealed on Friday. PGATOUR.COM will countdown the players for the rest of December, with No. 1 unveiled on Dec. 30.

Be sure to check out this year’s new addition of the Three Wise Men – Chris DiMarco, Arron Oberholser and Craig Perks, who offer their takes on each of the players on the list .

Let’s us know how you think these players will perform in 2012 and whether we ranked ‘em too high, too low or just right.

No. 81: Scott Piercy

No. 82: Chris Kirk

No. 83: John Senden

No. 84: Carl Pettersson

No. 85: Chad Campbell

No. 86: George McNeill

No. 87: Harrison Frazar

No. 88: Jeff Overton

No. 89: Chris Stroud

No. 90: Kevin Streelman

CLICK HERE FOR COMPLETE ARCHIVE PAGE/SCHEDULE FOR THE TOP 100 PLAYERS TO WATCH IN 2012

Scott Piercy got into the winner’s circle for the first time on the PGA TOUR at the Reno-Tahoe Open. Post your note of congratulations below for Piercy and we’ll deliver it to him.

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.

Scott Piercy shot a front-nine 33 to get to 16 under and take a two shot lead to the back nine at the Reno-Tahoe Open. Piercy is now 14 under through his last 27 holes. Piercy is trailed by his playing partner Josh Teater, 14 under, and Pat Perez, 13 under. Steve Flesch, Blake Adams and Chris Riley are also on the course at 12 under. So far, the low round of the day belongs to Matt McQuillan, who shot a 6-under 66 in the final round to move to 11 under. He is currently tied for seventh with Steve Elkington and Nick O’Hern.

Boo Weekley is currently in last place at the Reno-Tahoe Open – another bad week in what has been a poor 2011 season for the two-time PGA TOUR winner.

Weekley is at 6 over through 15 holes in his final round, well off the 13-under lead of Scott Piercy, who will tee off at 4:40 p.m. ET.

Weekley’s best finish this year came in January, when he finished tied for 13th at the Bob Hope Classic -- his only top-25 finish of the year. He has missed seven cuts in 17 events in 2011, and withdrew from his last event, the AT&T National, citing a rib injury.

He’s currently 153rd in the FedExCup standings, and is not in the field at next week’s PGA Championship.
Weekley has made the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup every year since he finished 23rd in his rookie year on TOUR in 2007. He has fallen in the standings each year since, however. In 2008 he finished 25th, but dropped to 85th in 2009 and 111th in 2010.

By Zak Kozuchowski, PGATOUR.COM Players in the afternoon wave at the Reno-Tahoe Open are struggling to catch the current leaders, who took advantage of the benign morning conditions in Round 3 at Montreux. Overnight leader Vaughn Taylor started the day 9 under, and has battled windy afternoon conditions to get to 1 under through 12 holes. He is three shots behind current leader Scott Piercy, and one back of Josh Teater, who shot a 65 to move to 11 under. Pat Perez, John Merrick and Blake Adams are all tied with Taylor at 10 under after rounds of 65, 66 and 67, respectively. Taylor’s playing partner Will MacKenzie began the round in second place at 8 under, but has lost three shots and is now in a tie for 27th place.

By Zak Kozuchowski, PGATOUR.COM

Overnight leader Vaughn Taylor has just teed off in the Reno-Tahoe Open, but he finds himself four shots back of current leader Scott Piercy, who just set the course record in Round 3 with an 11-under 61.

Piercy made a six-foot putt for eagle on the 616-yard closing par-5 to best the previous course record of 62, which had been shot three times (Bill Glasson, 2005; Joe Ogilvie 2006; Parker McLachlin, 2008).

Piercy birdied Nos. 2 though 9 at Montreux, and after birdies at Nos. 14 and 15, the 59 watch was on for the third-year PGA TOUR player. His lone bogey came at No. 17, a 464-yard par-4, effectively ending the threat.

Other big movers in Round 3 include TOUR rookie Jim Renner, who shot a 7-under 65 and is currently in third place. James Driscoll also went low with a 66 to move to 7 under.