Scott Piercy hopes inner peace leads to Shriners success

Scott Piercy, 38, is a Las Vegas native who played high school golf at Bonanza. His decade spent on the PGA Tour, marriage and fatherhood have helped mold a new mindset that he believes will translate to success on the course, hopefully starting this Thursday at the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open.

“I think the biggest difference in my career is that in the last year or two I’ve come to understand myself a lot better and I’ve put people around me that have helped me do that,” Piercy said. “I think understanding myself gives me a little more peace on the inside.

”I’ve always known I was good and I don’t say that as a cocky statement, but maybe I haven’t always gotten the best out of myself. Sometimes it’s hard to know how to get the good out of yourself. Maybe understanding I’m on the back side of my career a little has helped me figure that out and appreciate things. Now I just want to ride this as hard as I can.”

Piercy enters his 10th PGA Tour season with an impressive professional resume that includes three PGA Tour victories and more than $15 million in earnings. Last year, he finished 98th in the FedEx Cup standings and ranks 61st entering this week. The Shriners will mark his third tournament of the 2017-18 season.

Playing in a hometown can be a challenge for any player, but Piercy now knows how to balance on and off the course demands.

“I put a little more pressure on myself in Las Vegas because I really want to do well here in front of family and friends,” Piercy said. “As far as the added time commitment playing in my hometown, I think I have learned how to manage my time better over the years and my wife, Sara, really helps a lot with ticket requests and other stuff.”

As for how to handle seeing a familiar face outside the ropes during a round, something common place for the local pros, Piercy also has a plan for that and hopes his on-course reactions don’t lead to misinterpretations.

“It depends on my mood at the time (if I see someone I know during a round),” Piercy said with a laugh. “I try to stay pretty level headed when I’m playing, but obviously emotions go up and down on the golf course. If I can’t talk to them right then, I try to text them later or give them a head nod. I think I’m probably misunderstood to a big point because I’m so hard on myself because I feel like I am good enough to be ‘that guy’, but (my career) hasn’t always been where I’ve wanted it.”

Stars on, off course

Former Chicago Cubs and Atlanta Braves star and current UNLV assistant baseball coach Greg Maddux and former Governor Bob Miller played in the Las Vegas Golf Hall of Fame Classic Pro-Am at Las Vegas National last Thursday. Hall of famers who played included Joe Kelly, Jerry Roberts, Mike Davis, Lou Redden and Art Sellinger. Also playing were Class of 2017 inductees Kerri Clark, Tim Farkas, representing his late father Bill Farkas, and Bob Orgill and Tom Khamis, representing the Southern Nevada Golf Association.

Freelance writer Brian Hurlburt is a two-time author who has covered golf in Las Vegas for more than two decades. He can be reached at bhurlburt5@gmail.com or @LVGolfInsider.