28 Vaults Piercy Up Leaderboard in Reno

SCOTT PIERCY MADE A ROUTINE PAR on the first hole in the third round of the Reno-Tahoe Open. Then Piercy went crazy, making eight straight birdies at the Montreux Golf & Country Club. The San Diego State grad carded an 8-under 28 on the opening nine to go from after thought to leader. (He started the day seven shots off the pace.)

Piercy calmed down for a while. He notched pars on 10, 11, 12 and 13. Then back-to-back birdies on 14 and 15 put him at 10-under for his round with three holes to play. His lone bogey slowed him down at the 17th. But Piercy finished like a champ, sinking an eagle at the final hole for an 11-under 61. He currently holds a three-stroke lead on Pat Perez and Josh Teater with the third round still in progress.

Piercy, whose best finish this year is a T6 at the RBC Canadian Open, is looking for his maiden victory on the PGA Tour. If he can hang on, he’ll join the growing list of first-time winners this season.

−The Armchair Golfer

(Photo: Courtesy of Gaylord Sports)

Fitness Ruined Carl Pettersson’s Golf Game

CARL PETTERSSON CHASED DOWN Dean Wilson on the back nine Sunday to win the RBC Canadian Open, his fourth PGA Tour title and a nice comeback for a good player who struggled in 2009. Pettersson made the cut on the number and then posted a 60 in the third round. Not much was happening on Sunday until the North Carolina resident got to the 8th and then bang, a birdie, followed by five more birdies on the next six holes.

Pettersson said he was a consistent top-30 money winner on the PGA Tour until he decided to try to take things up a notch. He looked in the mirror and saw Mr. Pudgy. Maybe getting in better shape would help him improve his game, he reasoned.

“I thought, well, I’ll get fit,” Carl said. “So I actually lost 30 pounds, and my game completely left me.”

Don’t head off to the fridge just yet. There’s more.

“I guess the timing of the swing and everything was thrown out,” he added, “and I really struggled in ’09.”

That makes sense to me. It’s happened to other players. David Duval comes to mind.

Whether the swing, equipment, putting, mental game, or, in Pettersson’s case, fitness, there’s not a one-size-fits-all answer for this crazy game. Look for Carl in the buffet line rather than the fitness trailer.

“I’m not your typical Swede, as you know. I don’t have a 28-inch waist, and I don’t eat bananas at the turn, stuff like that.”

The workouts didn’t work out. But that’s OK, because now his game is coming back and he’s the Canadian Open champion.

“You know, I’d love to be fitter,” Carl said, “but I’m not going to go down that road again.”

−The Armchair Golfer

(Quotes via ASAP Sports at RBC Canadian Open)