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Piercy, at 13-under 129, leads Argentina's Emiliano Grillo (65
on Friday) by three going into the weekend. Englishman Callum
Tarren shot an 8-under 63 for the round of the day, vaulting him
into third place at 8 under.
Piercy shared the first-round lead with Sungjae Im of South
Korea and wasted no time separating himself from the pack early
in Friday's round. He started on the back nine and made a
27-foot birdie putt at the par-4 10th, jumpstarting a string of
four birdies.
The 43-year-old added birdies at the second, sixth and seventh
holes.
"It's been a little bit since I've played like I feel like I
should play," Piercy said. "To kind of prove it to myself again,
I know it's in there, it's just like, ‘OK, how do we get it out
of me?' There's a lot of business to take care of this weekend,
but to come out the first two days and do what I did gives me a
lot of confidence going into the weekend."
Piercy has won four times on tour, but not since 2018 at the
Zurich Classic of New Orleans, a team event. He's also in
position to land his first top-10 finish of the season.
Grillo drained a 40-foot eagle putt at the par-5 sixth to get
his round moving. He also made five birdies on the day against
just one bogey.
"I think I was able to manage the ball pretty well and I was
able to make the putts when I had the chance," Grillo said.
"Obviously that one on 6, it's a big plus to steal two and it's
a hole that's kind of hard to get in two, so solid day."
Tarren, ranked No. 335 in the world, posted his 63 by making
four birdies on the front nine and four more on the back without
a bogey. He earned his PGA Tour card at the end of last season
and has two top-10 finishes on the year.
"I played solid at the John Deere, finished sixth," Tarren said.
"I think I can draw off that because Sunday didn't quite about
go my way, I missed a couple of shots coming down the stretch,
but I think my mindset over the weekend is just going to be
pedal to the floor."
Im, who shot a first-round 65 along with Piercy, found the water
on the par-4 second Friday and made double bogey there en route
to a 1-under 70. He is now tied for fourth at 7 under with Tony
Finau (68), Robert Streb (67), Tom Hoge (68) and Doug Ghim (68).
The top 65 and ties made the 36-hole cut of 1 over par. Fan
favorites Rickie Fowler and Australian Jason Day snuck in at
even par through two rounds after carding 72s. Defending
champion Cameron Champ made the cut on the number after shooting
a 68 Friday.
Retired tennis pro Mardy Fish, a 3 handicap who often competes
in celebrity pro-ams, played the 3M Open in his home state of
Minnesota on a sponsor exemption. Fish shot an 81 Thursday and a
74 Friday, missing the cut at 13 over par.
--Field Level Media
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