One man’s miss is another man’s make. An adage that was clear to see on Sunday at Pebble Beach, even in the dark.
Playing the final hole in the glow of the greenside scoreboard, Scott Piercy faced a 20-foot putt for birdie. The 40-year-old was 11 under for the tournament, with a potential birdie moving him into a tie for sixth. Alas, Piercy’s depth perception was clearly off, as he knocked the attempt seven feet past the hole. He overcompensated on the follow-up, the par putt falling short and to the left.
It one vein, it was tough sledding for Piercy. Without a chance to win, the protocol in such situations is to try and finish to avoid a Monday morning return. Unfortunately that scramble cost him almost $50,000, dropping him down to T-10.
However, there was a positive upshot, as Piercy’s three-putt allowed three players—Chris Stroud, Michael Thompson and Max Homa—passageway into the top 10. A finish that bestowed invitations to this week’s Genesis Open at Riviera, invitations that Thompson and Homa didn’t have on Sunday morning.
Thompson wasn’t in the AT&T Pebble Beach field to begin the week, only getting in as an alternate. The finish continues a hot streak for Thompson, who posted a T-9 at the Desert Classic and a T-13 at the Farmers Insurance Open.
The T-10 is especially prosperous for Homa. In his third go-around on the PGA Tour, Homa had missed six consecutive cuts before making the weekend in Phoenix. The witty 28-year-old perfectly summed up the affair on Twitter, writing “In golf, 10th is a hell of a lot better than 11th.”
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