Five things we learned from the RBC Canadian Open

Let’s be honest, we’re all incredibly busy. Nobody has time to sit down and watch four rounds of golf coverage — unless, of course, you watch TV for a living, and if that’s the case, please email us your number. So in an effort to condense the tournament coverage for you into a few quick hits, here are five things we learned from the RBC Canadian Open.

Remember the name Scott Piercy — Scott Piercy isn’t a marquee name on the PGA Tour, but after his win on Sunday at the RBC Canadian Open, maybe it’s time we started paying attention to 33-year-old from Las Vegas.

With two wins in the last two years, Piercy is quietly carving out a spot on tour as someone to watch. After finishing two shots out of a playoff earlier in the month at the John Deere, he followed up his third-place showing with a one-shot win — he opened the tournament with 62 and then posted three straight 67s — over Robert Garrigus and Williams McGirt at Hamilton Golf and Country Club.

In his last two starts, Piercy has pocketed a cool $ 1.2 million. That’s not bad for a guy who finished 125th on the money list in 2010 to barely maintain full-time status on the PGA Tour.

William McGirt comes up short … again — Like Piercy, McGirt came dangerously close to losing full-time status last year on the PGA Tour, finishing 125th on the money list. This year, however, he looks like a completely different golfer — especially over the last couple weeks. McGirt picked up the first top-5 finish of his career two weeks ago at the True South Classic, and then followed it up with a second-place finish at the RBC Canadian Open. This is the first time McGirt has ever posted back-to-back top-5 finishes on the PGA Tour in his career, but you get the feeling he may pick up his first win soon enough. For the second straight week he finished top-2 in the field in strokes gained – putting.

Robert Garrigus cools off during the final round — Garrigus only had a one-shot lead going into Sunday, but there was reason to believe he’d pick up his second PGA Tour win at the RBC Canadian Open. With only one bogey to go along with 15 birdies and an eagle, he looked nearly unstoppable for three rounds. But when it mattered most, Garrigus couldn’t get a put to drop. He opened the final round with 13 straight pars, and then left a birdie putt just short on the 18th that would’ve forced a playoff.

Bud Cauley trying to replicate last year’s late-season push — There’s something about this stretch in the schedule that turns Cauley into a top-10 machine. One year after he bypassed Q-School altogether following an incredible late-season run that saw him turn pro at the U.S. Open and earn enough money in eight starts to earn his card, Cauley could be on the verge of replicating his feat after posting his second straight top-4 finish. Just last year, the 22-year-old finished T-4, T-13 during the same stretch at the True South Classic and Canadian Open.

News and notes — Chris Kirk opened with seven birdies in his first 10 holes on Saturday before closing with eight straight pars to shoot 63. … Josh Teater’s T-4 was the sixth top-10 finish of his career. … Vijay Singh may be one year away from being eligible for the Champions Tour, but he’s still going strong after picking up his second straight top-10 finish. … Tim Clark has four top-25 finishes in 14 starts this season.

Devil Ball Golf – Golf – Yahoo! Sports