Scott Piercy had more than the $1,008,000 first prize on his mind as he fought to stay among the leaders at the Sony Open in Hawaii.
Every move up the leaderboard meant a chance to sleep in just a little bit longer today.
"I’m a little tired. I’m not going to lie," Piercy said. "It’s been a pretty fast week."
Playing his sixth round of golf since Monday, the Las Vegas native carded a second consecutive 6-under 64 on Friday to remain two shots behind the lead at the halfway mark at Waialae Country Club.
Piercy is one of 20 golfers who made the trip over from Maui following the Hyundai Tournament of Champions, which ended Tuesday.
Heavy winds and rain forced the group of 2012 PGA Tour champions to play 36 holes on Monday followed by 18 more on Tuesday.
Piercy, who finished in a tie for 13th at Kapalua, then had to race over to Oahu to tee off in the Sony Open pro-am on Wednesday at 7:18 a.m. He was back out on the course again by 7:50 a.m. on Thursday.
Today, he’ll have the luxury of teeing off in the final pairing with rookies Russell Henley and Scott Langley.
"If the wind still stays up and it gets firm out here and the ball is rolling, you’ll have to play some pretty good golf," Piercy said.
"Hopefully (today) I can hit the ball a little more solid."
Playing in his fifth tournament at Waialae, Piercy says he’s beginning to feel comfortable with the golf course.
After missing the cut in his first appearance in 2007, he has made it to the weekend three times in his past four starts, including a tie for 23rd place last year.
He bested his previous best round of 65 by a shot both days so far this year and has yet to make a bogey. Percy finished with four birdies and an eagle on Friday afternoon after six birdies in Thursday’s opening round.
"This week I feel like I’m rolling it a little more solidly. … It turns your demeanor from a ‘Oh, I can’t score’ to a "Let’s go do this,’" Piercy said. "I think I understand this course and then I think I am able to play what it gives me."
Piercy’s tied for second, one shot ahead of Matt Kuchar, who also played at Kapalua this week.
After starting with seven consecutive pars, Kuchar birdied five of the next eight holes and closed with an eagle at 18 to shoot a 63.
"Coming from last week, it feels really easy out there," Kuchar said.
Fifteen of the 20 golfers finished under par, with exactly half making the cut at 2 under or better.
Among those who didn’t make the cut were last year’s champion, Johnson Wagner, and previous winner Zach Johnson.
Nobody had a worse day than Hyundai TOC winner Dustin Johnson, who was 3 over through the front nine before withdrawing with flu-like symptoms.
"I feel like I’m coming down with whatever my caddie’s got," said Johnson, who added the week wouldn’t change his thoughts about the islands.
"I always enjoy coming to Hawaii and always will," he said. "I’ll be back next year."
