Piercy survives shaky finish to win Reno-Tahoe

Reno: Scott Piercy survived a tense final round to capture the Reno-Tahoe Open by a single stroke and earn his first career victory.

The 32-year-old needed to make a seven-foot par putt on the last for a round of two-under to remain a shot better than Pat Perez, who fired a 4-under 68 to put the heat on Piercy. Americans Steve Flesch and Blake Adams finished two shots behind at 13-under 275. Piercy`s finish was anything but routine after his tee shot on the 18th sailed far right and wound up against a cart path on the 616-yard, par 5. The Nevada native was able to reach the green in three shots but blew his birdie try well by the hole to set up a testing putt for par and seal the win."Having to two-putt is not easy," Piercy told reporters, after his victory earned him a spot in this week`s PGA Championship in Atlanta, Georgia. "We had vacation plans next week but now I have to cancel. I`m so excited." Piercy had a two-stroke lead over fellow American Josh Teater going into Sunday`s final round and while he birdied his first hole he could not pull away from the chasing pack. In the group ahead, Perez made consecutive birdies at the 12th and 13th and found himself tied atop the leaderboard at 15-under when Piercy bogeyed the 14th.But Perez too would falter, hitting a poor second shot to bogey 17 to slip out of the lead before missing a short birdie putt on 18. Bureau Report