Phoenix Open Golf matchups: Can Piercy make some noise?
by Charles Jay
Scott Piercy, a player with a lot of ability, may have been a bit surprised when he was roundly booed by the stadium crowd at the 16th hole of the TPC Scottsdale course during the Phoenix Open, even though he had hit a tee shot within ten feet of the hole. Maybe they were expecting something better from him. It's his intention to make more noise than that crowd this year.
At BetUS Sportsbook, he is in a special golf "matchup" with former amateur champion and U.S. Open runner-up Ricky Barnes. Let's take a look at that.
SCOTT PIERCY -135
RICKY BARNES +105
Scott Piercy is one of those players who banged around the mini-tours for quite a while before finally earning his opportunity to compete on the PGA Tour. Earn it he did - he placed ninth on the Nationwide Tour money list in 2008 to get his chance last year. Has he made the most of it? Well, he started off pretty quickly, finishing in the top twenty in five of his first six events last year, and that included a sixth-place tie at the Phoenix Open (then the FBR Open).
Things allowed down for him after that, as he had only two Top 20 finishes the rest of the way. but you've got to respect him for his effort last year, when he shot 69-67-66 in his first three rounds, and would have challenged for the championship with anything like that on the final day. But he shot a 71. This year he missed the first two cuts, but came out of the gate like a house afire at the Farmers Insurance Open, shooting a first-round-leading 64 that included nine birdies, then faded a bit to finish 20th.
Piercy is no stranger to big-money golf, despite his relative youth on the PGA Tour; in 2007 he won the $2 million first prize in the "Ultimate Game" on Steve Wynn's course in Las Vegas, and that was the largest winner's share in the whole sport.
Ricky Barnes played his college golf at the University of Arizona, where he was a three-time All-American. He also won the 2002 U.A. Amateur over Hunter Mahan, which got him a pass into the 2003 Masters, where he was the low amateur, finishing 21st and gaining "prodigy" status.
He is probably best known, however, for his run at the U.S. Open last year, where he set the 36-hole scoring round in the first two rounds and then became one of only four players ever to even reach -10 or better in that tournament. He had the championship well within his sights, but his 76 on Sunday practically handed the title to Lucas Glover.
Last year he made only eleven cuts in the 23 events he played in. Barnes tied for 14th back in 2004 at this event. He’s at least had a positive result this year, as he finished ninth outright at the Northern Trust Open.
EDGE: PIERCY (-135)
VAUGHN TAYLOR -160
CARL PETTERSSON +130
Taylor's biggest triumphs on the tour have been his two first-place finishes at the Reno-Tahoe Open. In the second one he scored a three-stroke victory over Jonathan Kaye, who is a past winner of the Phoenix Open. In 2006 he made it to the Ryder Cup team, and tied for tenth in the Masters the following year. He's very accurate off the tee, placing 27th among all PGA players at the moment, and he is rated fourth in sand saves.
Taylor had a very disappointing result in Phoenix last year, as he could do no better than tie for 53rd place. He was tied for 11th in 2007. Last year he made the cut in 16 out of 28 events, and aside from being the runner-up in one event (losing the Turning Stone in a playoff) he had two other top ten finishes.
Carl Pettersson is a Swede who played his college golf at North Carolina State. He's captured three PGA titles, including a 259 at the Wyndham Championship in 2008. That was not a bad year for him, as he also tied for sixth place in the U.S. Open. Since the start of last year, he has made the cut in only 18 of 34 Tour events.
His greens in regulation have not been particularly strong (67.1%) and based on his past numbers, that's not likely to improve all that much. Pettersson served notice that this might be a good year for him when he finished in a tie for fifth at the Bob Hope Classic. He played in the Phoenix Open last year and was tied for 25th, shooting six under par.
He missed the cut the previous year. Taylor is a more accomplished player than he is, though I'm not sure it is enough to be playing this price.
EDGE: PETTERSSON (+130)
