FALMOUTH, Maine – The last month for Pierceson Coody has been a whirlwind; he claimed the No. 1 ranking in the PGA TOUR University Class of 2022, led Texas to its fourth national title, made his professional debut, which resulted in a missed cut, only to finish in the top-five the following week. Now in just his third career start, the 22-year-old tied Falmouth Country Club’s tournament course record Friday and enters the weekend as the outright 36-hole leader at the Live and Work in Maine Open.

Coody carded a bogey-free 9-under 62, with seven birdies and an eagle, to earn the first lead of any kind in his young Korn Ferry Tour career. Starting from the back nine, Coody rolled in a pair of birdies at the 11th and 12th, followed by another at the 15th before an eagle on the par-5 17th. After making the turn at 5-under, he tallied four more birdies (Nos. 1, 3, 4 and 7) to finish 9-under in the second round, bringing him to 11-under through 36 holes.

“It started off early with some good putts that went in,” said Coody. “A few easy 15-footers that just found the bottom and I guess I just kept having good 10- to 20-foot looks and made a bunch of them. Chipped in for eagle (on No. 17). A lot of things went my way, obviously.”

Coody earned exemption into all open, full-field events for the remainder of the Korn Ferry Tour regular season with the top spot in the final rankings of the PGA TOUR University presented by Velocity Global. The 2021 Big 12 Player of the Year made his debut as a professional two weeks ago at the BMW Charity Pro-Am presented by TD SYNNEX, but missed the cut after opening rounds of 72 and 70.

“The first week at BMW, it wasn't ideal missing the cut, but I went home to Dallas and just practiced and went out with my dad,” said Coody. “Everything kind of fell in place. I worked on a few different things and I’m just striking the ball a little bit better.”

Everything indeed fell into place. Initially intending to try qualifying into the U.S. Open, Coody decided to withdraw from the qualifier to spend a few extra days at home. While the top-ranked players in the world were playing in Brookline, Massachusetts last week, Coody was in Wichita, Kansas where he carded four rounds of 3-under par or better and finished T4 at the Wichita Open Benefitting KU Wichita Pediatrics in just his second start.

“This is what we dreamed about in college,” said Coody. “The PGA TOUR University program giving us this opportunity to play consistent and good golf – it's tough because if I Monday qualified for BMW and missed the cut, then I wouldn't be standing here. So having guaranteed starts is big for confidence and building in a nice rhythm like I did in Wichita. Hopefully keep it going this week.”

The Coody family has a strong connection to the game of golf. Pierceson’s twin brother, Parker, was also a member of the national champion Texas team this year and is currently playing on PGA TOUR Canada where he finished T15 in his professional debut last week. Their father, Kyle, played in 21 Korn Ferry Tour events from 1990-96, and their grandfather, Charles, made over 600 PGA TOUR starts from 1960-2006, highlighted by his 1971 Masters title.

Coody had a decorated amateur career which included being a member of the victorious 2021 Walker Cup and Palmer Cup teams, a 2020 Western Amateur title, three All-America honors, the No. 1 spot in the World Amateur Golf Ranking.

With two rounds to go, Coody is in position to add to his trophy cabinet with what would be his first career victory as a professional.

Third-round pairings will run from 6:40 a.m. through 12:20 p.m. local time off the first tee.