By Helen Ross, PGATOUR.COM Scott Piercy is one of the biggest hitters on the PGA TOUR, ranking 16th with an average of 301 yards per poke. Not coincidentally, then, Piercy has a lot of wedges for his second shots. And on Thursday during the first round of the John Deere Classic, he took full advantage and went flag-hunting as often as possible. Piercy was rewarded with a bogey-free 65 that left him one stroke off Ricky Barnes' lead when the morning round was complete at TPC Deere Run. He found 79 percent of his fairways, 83 percent of the greens in regulation and used just 27 putts. "This year I've had a lot of good finishes that I was behind the eight ball, so to say, after the first day," Piercy said. "So it's nice to kind of get out ahead of it and, you know, just to get a good round under your belt first. "Hopefully get the momentum started early and keep it going." The 2012 campaign has been a steady, if not spectacular season for Piercy, who won his first PGA TOUR event last year in Reno. The one area of is game Piercy feels has been "lacking" was his wedge play so he changed the bounce and the camber in those clubs last week. "It's made a huge difference," Piercy said. "I was having trouble shooting the ball through greens, not being able to hit it soft enough. Took all the camber off the club and made it pretty flat. "It's just made me able to hit the shots that I see and the distances I want."