February 26, 2010–Las Vegas PGA Tour pro Scott Piercy pretty much has always told it like he sees it. That makes Piercy, who grew up playing Las Vegas golf courses such as Las Vegas Golf Club, always good for a quote, and that was no different following his second round of the Waste Management Phoenix Open. "If I was a roller coaster ride at Magic Mountain, I would be the best ride there," Piercy said in the press room. —By Brian Hurlburt.
Piercy started with rounds of 68-67, good for a 7-under par total and within reach of the leaders heading into the weekend. His rounds included 15 birdies, eight bogeys and just 13 pars over the 36 holes of TPC Scottsdale. "I don't even know if I make pars anymore, it's just birdies and bogeys," said Piercy, who birdied holes five out of six holes on the back nine in Friday. "I'd get going, make three birdies in a row, make two bogeys. A lot of it is really fun and a lot of it is really frustrating."
Piercy has been working with Butch Harmon School of Golf professional Greg Labelle for the last several months. The Butch Harmon School of Golf is located at Las Vegas' Rio Secco Golf Club, a Rees Jones design operated by Harrah's Golf. Rio Secco is the home of the Wendy's 3-Tour Challenge and is a resort Las Vegas golf course. Click now for Las Vegas golf tee times at the official website of Rio Secco. Also, all golfers are welcome at the Butch Harmon School of Golf, and you can click to the official website to learn about official schools and lessons.
"There's tons of positive stuff going on, just some bad stuff (too)," said Piercy, who finished second in Phoenix a year ago. "The bad stuff is really kind of silly stuff, which may be frustrating. Overall there's a lot of good going on. I'm putting well and making lots of birdies, which is really important out here … I bet probably 10 times this week I hit it right down the middle, inside 150 yards, middle of the fairway, thinking birdie chance, and I'd miss the green and make a bogey. Stuff that you just really shouldn't be doing. Then I'll come back and make three birdies. Then I'll miss the green from the middle of the fairway."
Phil Mickelson, who works with Harmon and went to college at Arizona State, is back to searching for a way to make more putts. At the end of the 2009 season, Mickelson made everything and won two events in a row, but he can't seem to make enough thus far in 2010. But his work with Butch continues to pay off, and he believes the putts will dall soon. "it's just a small little thing, maybe something in setup, maybe just a small little thing you have to change, instead of having the putts catch the lip, they fall in," said Mickelson. "It's just a small little deal. I feel like I'm playing well and I'm hitting the ball well and I'm putting myself in good position to score well, but the critical putts that I need to fall haven't quite yet, but they don't feel like they're far off. They don't feel like they're missing by a bunch."