Early start works out for Piercy
PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. — After missing the cut last week at the Canadian Open, Scott Piercy spent the weekend on his couch hoping that wouldn’t cost him a spot in the U.S. Open.
Piercy ended up getting one of the final qualification spots and now finds himself in good position after taking advantage of an early tee time Thursday to get off to a fast start at Pebble Beach.
Piercy raced to 5 under par in the first six holes and finished with a 4-under 67 after bogeying the 18th hole. He briefly held the clubhouse lead and was one stroke back of leaders Rickie Fowler, Louis Oosthuizen and Xander Schauffele after the morning rounds. Piercy finished the day two strokes behind leader Justin Rose.
“Any time you can be under par at the U.S. Open is a good thing,” Piercy said. “I got off to kind of a fiery start, which is great, and then tried to hold on there in the middle and tried to make a couple coming in. Overall the putter was there, it felt good. The ball-striking needs to be cleaned up a little bit, so I’ll be on the range for a little while. But 4 under par the first round of the U.S. Open, I’ll take that every time.”
Especially when just qualifying for the tournament was a bit dicey. Piercy went to sectional qualifying at Scioto Country Club last week and missed out by one stroke on getting into Pebble Beach.
The 40-year-old from Las Vegas still had another route into the tournament as one of the top 60 players in the golf rankings. Piercy was ranked 60th going into the week and went to play the Canadian Open at Hamilton Golf and Country Club, where he earned his second career PGA Tour win back in 2012.
But Piercy missed the cut and had to sweat it out.
“So then you’ve got to sit at home and not root against guys, but hope that they don’t kick you out,” he said. “I was happy to get in and I was happy with the start.”
He ended up at 59 in the rankings and earned the spot into his eighth U.S. Open.
Pros enjoying view at Pebble Beach
True, this is their workplace and this is arguably the most intense work week of their year. But the pros just can’t help but look around and notice the beauty of Pebble Beach Golf Links.
The bluffs, the waves, the flora and fauna were not lost on Oosthuizen, despite the fact he was otherwise occupied by shooting 5-under-par 66 and taking a share of the first-round lead.
“Pebble to me is probably one of my favorite, if not my favorite venue for a U.S. Open. You’re not going to beat the scenery and everything about this golf course,” he said after his round.
He added that during practice early in the week, he was just like the thousands who roll through 17-Mile Drive here every year.
“I don’t think you can ever get a better golf day than it was on Tuesday,” he said. “And I was out there, probably looked like a tourist taking all the pictures on my phone and forgot I was playing a practice round. But, yeah, that’s what this place does to you. When you get around holes like 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, and then you finish off with 17 and 18, it’s just different to any other venue that you really ever play.”
Graeme Mcdowell was asked about playing his first U.S. Open round on Pebble Beach since his Open win here in 2010 and said, “I wasn’t coming here to reminisce, I wasn’t coming here to sightsee. Well, you always sightsee at Pebble Beach, so take that one away.”